OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties + j3 F7 @3 k- Gowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.7 H. T/ I7 X7 ^2 g$ g; m& I
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 6 p; `' F: e) q7 p4 G. a# A: L& `9 pdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. % z, R' w9 O2 L& k7 ` _5 [" o& mLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.; _+ t: a! l% H% w% _7 {) B
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have% _( n* J. A% K3 C+ q+ W7 D
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to 1 M2 C% S6 W" eacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. 1 g4 Q% Q& n5 r @' h9 \ Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital 1 T0 ^) q+ e) f5 F/ x3 D: O+ R& ]# }expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties # u1 ` q o; @' H! a' ~' |over the next three years. 5 d) N# U) H0 q/ n9 l7 s& m) M They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as2 u( W$ q' P. o! t
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain 1 b) S/ f% t6 u' V b" q9 |' c' Q8 fan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the+ ?) d( ~5 Y1 g8 h# ^+ v
projects for the next five years. : S$ K4 ]' g- ~7 \6 i3 v" J0 T1 B (The Canadian Press)