OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties ! f/ u! m; J6 R/ Wowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. / S( n$ C% P3 P6 \# {9 M Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the + O3 L% _; T. G9 n3 _' z# X, N6 qdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.# ]; ]$ L/ _2 K* Q) p
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. 8 D5 e3 O2 w3 }% |" U Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have* E# N" g0 w1 O6 u6 t9 g
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to( ~; v" m9 V# z. p' L5 D* R
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. 5 G! N' v/ a- n+ K2 ?( w Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital5 `' h3 |" `; n& I5 X
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties6 _9 f( H) q4 [
over the next three years.; Q5 J+ c6 x3 Y8 i. N
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as ! `# ], L' T0 Q" g) G. o: x8 lthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain 2 A+ G" c2 J8 }! x7 Q6 Ean Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the# ^/ x( s& e# D+ Q! n5 G2 ]
projects for the next five years.4 d# z" [4 u9 u, E
(The Canadian Press)