OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties . |# o0 m1 e4 z2 i2 b& V% H& Wowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. / G# ?( V. W7 C8 F2 z Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 7 R+ V8 Z6 I7 Ydeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. / o2 y/ v+ Z: ^1 p0 }7 g, H& NLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. Z Z& w8 b: X( ^
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have$ T+ Q. D; |; y# P" m. V% a1 E" e
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to( D2 N' C% U f
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.2 k! T- k9 H+ n2 i* A1 O. v& @( w
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital3 W# m% t. o8 k
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties% o" e0 |$ j* s6 Z5 t9 r9 U3 P+ f
over the next three years. ' O5 ]9 k/ w3 ~" c) A& y5 D. _- d2 u They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as' B' D6 z* T/ q3 d/ }2 W8 Q
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain * Q* K8 n' t4 ~% r8 \6 j, ?an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the% Z+ J5 J8 e8 `
projects for the next five years.; s8 [0 O9 N' T3 n9 C
(The Canadian Press)