OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties7 M3 I0 c& a2 r" ^# }
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.# S5 ]. I- O! B# G/ T$ Q( H; [* Z$ {
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 9 k4 B3 \2 l8 ?8 |4 F' O3 U3 ydeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.; q/ G& L8 g2 p' O5 c6 ^+ o
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.& z- @2 _& r: F
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have $ W4 t. m+ z9 ^/ T/ Xmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to; p+ \& q( y% _" c& D7 Z" E6 x
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. # F J v4 T& n% H8 T Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital5 k% y8 O9 I7 w9 C8 ?8 U5 w
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties + a! ?7 g0 c; |over the next three years.4 [5 N& v4 E8 e) [2 g3 m2 T8 w* O
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as x0 Y! R# }+ H. v: A. Y/ Uthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain - ]- ^% ^/ Q3 @/ ~. T% O8 R$ M: @an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the' w* a" O* T4 \) x, n2 K6 v$ Q
projects for the next five years.4 T) E: \( D2 u; U" `: W
(The Canadian Press)