OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties3 G+ k$ K. p' \3 w! b
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 2 S( ]9 }, ? d! W5 n; u1 R1 w( _ Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the4 \2 W5 [% s& f/ E% h* [1 Q
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. + r3 {8 {. }: b5 HLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.- J: u7 z: q8 {% ?7 p
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have : _4 @$ T: g T6 omade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to3 w( g3 ]" @0 k1 {. G4 [$ c
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.* s6 c9 \7 T* z2 [5 w& s
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital # o; e- }# E- T6 yexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties. l$ P J0 u$ H
over the next three years. 2 k' b# F& u! Q0 \3 v" t# n They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as ) t; J c; z3 o( Mthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain' c3 e6 B( V! h9 s0 ^: J3 k
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the + d% V2 B3 w! F7 [/ Q$ Y3 y' Y ~projects for the next five years. / D/ C* o i& |0 [) h" ?: } (The Canadian Press)