OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 6 Y0 R4 J& u% O! ^owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company." ~5 V* ?4 n+ q# g/ E @) L$ }
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the1 I C' I0 Z' l M7 }
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.7 l6 i2 F# `8 M% B: v |9 |9 o0 F# j
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.& q F' h. G/ q0 _1 o5 v
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have# u, _2 L2 R8 Q
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to / @* C; f" ~2 A& }acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.9 ?# v! E* M4 C4 h
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital8 ]& n/ L( ~* _% \' ~! P# i+ T8 e
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 1 u+ M5 q# [( \& @# uover the next three years.; [7 t. ~- ^: k& z
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as- s) _* P2 N" B0 ]! B8 L
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain % r/ ]* ?+ P- b& g5 Xan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the8 L5 A- o7 ~$ }! P
projects for the next five years. 4 j# D% Q; F2 g6 t! }- R3 O (The Canadian Press)