OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 0 c \! m* j% o7 ?6 y. downed by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.& u# O3 R$ G8 B% ?/ p
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the3 ?$ d' O7 _5 g+ t4 X- I
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. # r( i% I5 r+ S5 e, gLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.% V- K0 F: S1 t; l: {
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have; z7 l* @' }. z8 `8 J6 |
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to % U, c" ?) I, M$ e# @+ A/ iacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. 1 m; k* } O$ ^( ^- D( s& V Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital : U2 V- l& ?, |; q' iexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties4 u) g7 v+ a9 s& M% m. y9 i. c: B
over the next three years. . }; b3 d0 A7 G2 d5 l- R. u They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as3 Y2 l; S7 d0 b4 V
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain ' @. X# d9 q) han Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the5 Q3 d/ n. a2 S) N; w
projects for the next five years. 6 f' c2 t) `: U q (The Canadian Press)