OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 2 j5 n. k7 ~1 |owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 8 T0 q4 W; H9 @- a8 v Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the0 }2 t* Z$ t# N" e
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. ; l% x1 J0 A2 Y/ q' \ e7 [Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.& A0 Z7 z* e3 ~) O
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have * L+ v- Z; q* @2 Smade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to& J$ ^/ [& M* x& Q D1 k
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. 1 O& \( |: T0 D8 z/ w, ^8 I Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital 3 `& @. e; p7 r/ A( j. Fexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties # O+ | F- f) V4 i/ Bover the next three years.8 u% }( A1 }: S) o7 ?4 Q+ w7 m
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as* x$ T# }$ A: d8 k( A8 V8 D
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain ; }: u9 `& S3 l h1 N/ Qan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the3 x7 ^, y) \2 W
projects for the next five years.. k$ c9 e, g7 X
(The Canadian Press)