OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 4 J' x$ u2 v' R+ C E/ }6 [owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.# m. V0 w% n7 R" X
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the1 i$ v7 {' y6 Z6 h1 Y0 l
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 4 U8 {- w) ]6 r; d+ q0 V$ y: HLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. ) R7 P/ o! G2 r- K* y Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have # E3 P% R' I m2 U. dmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to4 @$ r; F+ t! v& P9 F
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. % E2 }' i" K- @' D, c Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital 7 z4 X* k# W) e: J- q9 |; Jexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties5 Z1 ]7 H2 H* M$ R0 I
over the next three years. ; z4 }7 J' `% e0 _3 I3 C1 W* X They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as & {+ Y# h' |. T; }8 P4 `. `+ Dthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain . E/ K& G: z. e8 H5 M/ w2 xan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the3 w: l' E$ j+ u/ r" F3 o
projects for the next five years.4 l5 z$ ]! a9 l4 ?4 W
(The Canadian Press)