OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties - r0 X7 z0 B o- J/ n- uowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.: O0 Q+ m& {8 `. S& M
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the+ ]: E/ O$ q$ i0 \0 F9 r
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 3 d; b7 P4 O6 e: w/ A) C D' ELtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. % T w" l: D( l/ Y5 @8 ^1 i Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 2 R! E J1 w- V6 q$ ]made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to ) b, ~* u- o9 b. R$ D( {acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. . U# E+ W! }& x- d# m# ?0 N9 J Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital3 B5 @/ E! L1 m7 o F& U
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties+ V+ M0 J, a& X! S/ b/ V' k
over the next three years.8 f, `" H1 C/ L) c: ~3 ?
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as6 a4 ^- T$ K1 ~4 k6 {5 ~% `, q3 z
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain' y1 l6 W+ P0 [/ `' p7 T
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the ' ?4 h! o# S. O# @# f& @: Hprojects for the next five years. 2 [% \4 w! l e* U1 |0 L# m& X. C; H (The Canadian Press)