OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 3 f5 s; n; j' i8 z0 Q1 V. s1 ~owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.0 @+ U6 B6 N( H; @% c T
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the - Z7 E8 Z& Z3 ?# W9 C$ vdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. / p/ ?+ k0 M4 o: C x& u- w& X( MLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.5 q' {' `" F* S, ?) @! p8 h! q
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 0 ^+ Y% k5 ]) s& X- {* L# l" Amade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to2 W3 B# u t& ?! r: s6 v
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.: d, J C: M- O! b. D' I$ D' J
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital; h7 c6 W ?0 @
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties$ g1 T4 G0 R! Q
over the next three years. 6 I9 i# t1 }) H I' y$ z/ T7 b They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as 9 h3 F1 t# Z8 G k9 C0 J8 @# |they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain ' Y+ t* c5 |* y+ {0 _% kan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 2 J* i) D% S$ f0 c [" kprojects for the next five years. 6 r, p; J% w3 {# O T# B9 N% q (The Canadian Press)