OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 3 ^+ n" n! S* p. I) F p' rowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 8 F) X3 d5 @1 }/ v- ` Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 9 @* C7 O3 @' i* ]; y3 e' \deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 1 [% d" w- [- O5 ^2 u' q8 ?Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. x% h& @5 ~! Z4 y0 a! B Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have, @* i5 [/ \$ g
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to- D8 c) p& K* `4 J u ~ c
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. , n9 r9 i* J4 F. b3 c7 r* b% x Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital T7 T" Z+ x+ b( H- T' b5 m
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties7 w# e( u @8 u
over the next three years. . ~& S) N- w$ q8 G! B1 e K/ D: s They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as. Q" Q0 b. _. h2 Q. E
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain , W% Q+ ~) l: I4 _7 ban Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the' K. f; \$ {3 c) B
projects for the next five years./ D. g7 J: e; N6 H: N) q$ K
(The Canadian Press)