OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties / d; T2 \- v* {8 yowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. T& V$ T9 @1 C/ v
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the: a- K6 o# d4 W9 A5 W' M+ H
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 7 B! _" o" z; ]* j: [# [& PLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.. V$ |9 B; A4 W% }# u& D% }
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 5 @3 c @: d1 y/ n0 A2 V3 t; s& E2 z0 \made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to6 H) u1 i4 f# A1 C% h
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.* L8 B+ k2 E9 g' Q
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital 7 Z4 Z' m# i) H+ xexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties7 | }1 U) A. i9 R3 J4 B% f
over the next three years.0 t. v" _" ^3 E
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as ( r. n$ z. V) n. _, \, }they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain {& c# V9 u1 ^' S! w% V
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 0 P: F1 i9 c' Z- H$ hprojects for the next five years. ' \ w+ T# l/ |. o. Y (The Canadian Press)