The Globe and Mail reports in its Wednesday edition that ConocoPhillips faces a $4-billion decision on increasing its share of Alberta's oil sands, with analysts predicting the Texas company will step up and endorse an energy play that many global peers have abandoned. The Globe's Andrew Willis and Emma Graney write that Houston-based ConocoPhillips owns a 50-per-cent share of the Surmont oil sands project near Fort McMurray, and holds a right of first refusal on the remainder of the property, which is currently held by Paris-based TotalEnergies SE. ConocoPhillips operates Surmont, which was launched in 1997. Last week, TotalEnergies agreed to sell its stakes in Surmont and the nearby Fort Hills property for $5.5-billion to Suncor Energy as part of the French company's shift away from energy sources with high carbon emissions. Over the past decade, global companies such as Shell PLC, Norway's Statoil ASA and Marathon Oil also exited the oil sands in part because of the projects' relatively high emissions. ConocoPhillips and ExxonMobil's Imperial Oil have continued to invest in Alberta projects. Analysts predict ConocoPhillips will push aside Suncor and buy the remainder of Surmont for more than $4-billion.