OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 2 d& i% p7 K/ cowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.2 Y+ o! q8 Y1 @0 D. u; {
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the : h+ y1 d) `+ u' K9 Bdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.* r& e% ], E8 c" m6 m0 p
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada." V, _% S. X! V% e; I1 ^
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have $ s" y! @- c \made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to# E# _$ f: Y" v% A5 d0 E" @( W
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.2 v) p J* L- L8 A( ~6 D( l
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital/ B1 F% N9 f! v, \0 O7 [, }
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties " M \0 I H& J3 X$ s/ bover the next three years.& O7 _& Y& w' X" f/ N& s
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as 8 A: r2 q5 C o$ `. T; Tthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain# S# d3 A6 B5 {2 Z* M+ h2 \. o
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the : q% G: z- [+ D$ d$ e8 Vprojects for the next five years." `, O: J* f" H7 Q' v
(The Canadian Press)