CALGARY (April 28) — Petro-Canada’s chief executive said he would welcome a decision by Ottawa to sell its 18% stake in the oil producer and refiner, but hasn’t asked for one.

“We would support the government in the disposition of its remaining 18%, acknowledging that it is their 18% and not ours,” Petro-Canada CEO Jim Stanford told reporters yesterday after the company’s annual meeting. Ottawa’s share is valued at about $1 billion.

However, Stanford said his company has had “no discussions around that. The government will decide to do what it wants to do when it wants to make that decision.”

A sale would make Petro-Canada more attractive to investors, Stanford said, noting that rules restricting foreign control and concerns about government ownership have discouraged prospective buyers for the company.

The Canadian government created Petro-Canada as a state-owned oil company during the mid-1970s energy crisis era. It was privatized in 1991, although Ottawa owned 70%. The government reduced its interest to 18% with a $1.8 billion secondary offering in 1995.