OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties2 p3 Y6 O/ `1 a- a0 @5 w6 w' B" N
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. ' o! I, \8 O0 X, f' w Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the : y2 T' u3 t4 rdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.2 F" k) Y$ V1 I% u7 `0 X
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.1 m) L6 ^" H# u9 ]* N }
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have % i7 S/ M( I t1 Xmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to7 Y! B: e6 d8 f4 L4 [5 x+ L3 z
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. 3 M8 L8 ]. b# V' g+ k/ Z9 o% s Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital $ j8 Y! I3 a T9 sexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 0 i0 k( U% A# J) I3 O2 Jover the next three years. % E* D7 J, a/ t1 ? They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as) x+ B) |! Y5 a9 f; w( x
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain) R$ L) G3 h3 N. k
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the6 v3 P* m- M$ f1 x1 \4 Z
projects for the next five years. 0 `6 k# c& @$ \* t) B (The Canadian Press)