OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties4 x. E5 u! ^7 z8 b' r
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company., u# Y2 k$ M0 u3 w& }
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the* r7 {/ a7 m9 ]' D. n
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. ' m8 q( s: E9 _9 E5 E9 o) i% cLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. x( G6 ]1 D7 O5 C
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 6 U) _6 E+ U( `$ `made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to7 c& [2 o- V5 V2 Y8 k* b3 e, x
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. ) I) q J: l! S. B9 A- H9 d( w Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital# u& y C9 ~% o" S# o& {2 W
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties " s+ i+ @, I) U# [# P- ]6 gover the next three years.- ]8 \2 w1 r7 t6 D7 ~
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as 5 m; O. \% D$ ^9 ~) ^4 P5 A) \they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain / g' T) {0 y: _' O6 F% Jan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the " F$ k6 a! O% E9 O# m0 U" Vprojects for the next five years. - ?/ j6 z7 p. m2 ~8 z1 c5 g9 {8 Q+ Z (The Canadian Press)