OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties. G1 g5 Q; n2 j) g5 w8 Q& s. L
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 1 ?+ `; [; L! h" [- c Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the7 G9 p$ B% o$ x8 B( l3 Z
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.' s- v+ A0 C3 [2 K$ ]4 g( M8 Q% {: l0 b! X
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. + I- c$ A1 {( {& U' D( F8 s$ ~ Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have& f2 ~5 U& D. P! [# m4 u% X( c3 R. a
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to 0 Z) V- v! f7 [2 s. Bacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.1 p& j5 @9 b! I5 \
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital $ a7 W3 y& l8 A/ w3 A; xexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties , O8 G1 k* H' k. h4 w7 _ Qover the next three years.' o9 d. ?* v7 @* |. q$ K d4 O2 y; X6 C
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as/ U7 o% \' W |5 v3 K% Q
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain + p5 n8 Y' }/ r' q; Can Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 6 ^9 f, v) s' K4 u' L0 K# Dprojects for the next five years. 8 ]- m- ^: I- e5 a$ @8 t/ M (The Canadian Press)