OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties9 v1 R; L. \& Z# h4 F% z
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.3 y* \+ ^ Z! L6 K- `
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the% P1 i8 ^( }7 m0 f
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.. l5 \% |+ q# L6 w
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. ! Z8 f5 C8 M5 h L! Y0 {: B Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 8 T B4 P) y" q, l4 h0 t e+ Cmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to }1 l. V7 f6 wacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.) {/ x$ z# T8 C# E2 r
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital2 s ^, q1 j# y+ p
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 4 c! J7 p) z# ~# p7 Y; Fover the next three years.* A+ S) p5 `( Q9 v9 \$ B* Z
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as" c! @$ L+ j) t7 ^# q1 y/ K
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain* Q$ z& @- r. a5 `* `* Z: |! ^
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the* Y+ K: O0 ^! _ ? R$ ]- I) r9 b- T; g
projects for the next five years., K' a0 u) ]+ h6 M% p7 Y5 c+ D! i6 w
(The Canadian Press)