OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties* g4 L3 f) `# [
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.# e/ P5 C9 f4 P! y' V
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the1 \" |* w& s- X9 ]% I
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.4 \" q: c6 g! q6 K( G8 L
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.7 a# [9 p) l( K6 T+ J
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have 5 _7 j& }8 z5 W" H2 z/ ^" Ymade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to + s: |4 K; o$ f( ]acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. V1 u) i7 Q- d9 ^' [8 U Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital8 K: s' I; J' }' A3 m7 F, W2 T
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 2 z8 q$ `" ]' {# E6 m0 _over the next three years. + M- h; r# r! n J. y6 u C2 {6 y They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as # ^8 L+ U0 h2 n+ s P" ~they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain2 t$ k7 k9 f4 c' r* p& X/ I
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the4 d% p- d- N5 ^( L
projects for the next five years.. J: g' w. O" D
(The Canadian Press)