OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties1 Y3 q# r) }- E' f; v$ G# V
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. + P. u. L3 J ~0 C+ r' {/ `8 t1 E7 P% m Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the + v* a/ U# Y* @) Ydeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.& U. O/ [5 o4 e; |& |' T& R8 E
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.8 i4 {7 Y' N4 G( a
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have( R1 h; E! E; @9 q: B. u
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to . f% [2 Z4 b5 ^; sacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. ; o8 |) Y. L; ^% a/ M Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital& w7 m8 {3 _# h! m, I# I
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties+ L! s% j; T* S
over the next three years.( w) B5 \- f/ c. u9 e z: _
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as1 C6 P8 Z1 v3 X( t7 Z
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain1 b* V5 I# @' s" }5 k$ f& S4 `
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the : }) {( ^5 ?4 `- h. qprojects for the next five years.+ D- Z; ^2 D6 k4 m" C9 l ~( D6 w
(The Canadian Press)