OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties4 p0 T0 G8 V7 ~+ z) n
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.% _0 ] O) @9 P( R+ N
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 0 |( \# m* v0 mdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 4 ^/ S$ q5 Z4 Q% [* aLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.& E& a1 a* `+ K4 x
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have + f) z4 m/ h* M& r/ c& E4 ]made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to4 N8 V+ L7 C0 a5 y- I
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.: L( L% i) [* O4 u; Q' ]2 t" c4 T4 J
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital% P& A( E* k" P% L# l+ ]
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties $ R0 z9 H6 T7 l/ W* Tover the next three years. 5 i$ {, z7 g; N$ }3 n8 G# t1 D They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as/ R' f: }3 |2 {/ s& N8 n
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain+ B0 E2 p; B |; _3 k- d
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 5 `! l3 X! b4 G6 P {projects for the next five years.6 b- u" k+ w! w; r2 ]+ J
(The Canadian Press)