OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties) L4 s0 m' j" P I
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.2 T+ {2 n9 r J" S3 R6 M
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the3 P- B7 B5 w; S' {+ c }% x3 T
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 6 V( j4 G5 c& x0 t. RLtd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. / ~5 N+ G$ c9 \* _* e Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have . s% [, F+ \9 Y" V( Y' h; Gmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to 5 r2 j! E* O& G$ O* K9 l! Jacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.7 b W1 i( N0 _; c
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital & s* P- R4 f* ?$ y3 Wexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 4 {" `* a+ q9 Hover the next three years. : J& x8 Z+ H( P8 Y% m3 q! e They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as + d& C+ J) t; rthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain9 K6 _$ r0 `/ j' h, `
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 9 d2 J r; h3 b+ Gprojects for the next five years.! z. |% ~' S' V2 ?* h3 p
(The Canadian Press)