OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties* C( W% L. E: ~* S/ c8 K
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. ! Z4 [6 k- Q8 F8 } Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the' e. J- R2 H" T2 @
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.7 {% T0 r* J+ U- b! o
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada., E) E( X8 ]- \
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 4 U) S9 J) X, S6 d x% nmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to( [& @6 F8 o Q ?6 B1 S& m
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.$ W% j5 {! [8 o: M6 G. ?
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital ' T0 m: U' i9 A( h# a7 E% Lexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties1 A9 a; U+ h+ `" @; z- u# L
over the next three years.4 l2 t: p2 g% p" o- N# b9 D% ]
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as+ S% D% a! f) _7 v9 A* O
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain* H# N7 z6 {$ B& }! {# s7 h1 g+ H
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the1 h4 I7 o0 q1 J3 d- C
projects for the next five years.1 u4 z# e$ Z; I+ T2 {
(The Canadian Press)