OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties + R: m1 t8 v" s$ }+ p1 |. Aowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.+ E0 g3 X G [- \2 |$ m
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the' x) Q" T8 M* F0 o
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.* v' b6 |9 _( k- ^! W
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. 7 j5 p& ]* {: D* U( g1 X Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have. j3 a9 u2 I1 s& S$ P3 [" S
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to 1 M" I% J" p- c; \acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. 5 l6 E: { u2 p( z |0 h7 k Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital1 N) s! A `/ `: k( t$ F/ {+ i4 X
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 7 W( j* p7 w3 Nover the next three years." S- X9 O/ z$ I& { b6 y/ X% a6 f
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as; Y% h$ {% S, W) g3 S. o
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain1 `/ |) ^- T. D6 G5 Z
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the ! q" e0 u+ v' O1 |" W6 m: cprojects for the next five years. * D0 J, a' k% H2 ~ (The Canadian Press)