Buffett, Gates tour Alberta oilsands

Two of the richest men in the world made a surprise visit to Alberta's oilsands Monday, oil industry officials confirmed Wednesday.  

Bill Gates and Warren Buffett visited the $9-billion Horizon oilsands project, owned by Canadian Natural Resources, just north of Fort McMurray. Gates is the founder of Microsoft and Buffett owns the mammoth holdings company Berkshire Hathaway, which is worth a reported $62 billion.

Greg Stringham, vice-president of the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, said the first he heard about the visit was when he got a call asking him to make a presentation to the two men and their entourage.

"It was not our initiative to put the group together or be part of the tour.  We were just invited to come up and give a presentation to them, which is what we did. "

Stringham said he was happy to oblige.

"[We gave them a] general overview of what was going on in the oil and gas industry, very general, kind of what we give to many other people when they are visiting."

Stringham wouldn't say why the pair decided to visit the oilsands, or if they talked about any future plans to invest in the community.