OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties6 G; J6 j8 w& j4 D2 `6 O' m9 L
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. % V4 _/ F3 T$ k( @* o n Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the0 S' U5 I% I6 V/ B+ F' P4 \/ f- K8 \
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.9 U/ F8 A" f6 P
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. ) f) Q2 Y" J! f, X1 U Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 9 j1 u& d+ t7 t1 E4 ^made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to& I" n& C9 p0 D6 T/ @
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.4 e8 n% e! V: q1 ?: w
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital + O# _' f' N/ Yexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties& l* }& q/ k q( o
over the next three years. 1 M7 X3 r# {4 _ They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as U" Z6 a# M( i: r1 d
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain; f9 q1 P* c$ f W
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the . l5 E# V+ V$ }- Y' C6 j4 L8 pprojects for the next five years.4 R. c* O+ q a; U
(The Canadian Press)