OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties ' O0 `! W; L$ w4 Aowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company./ K9 Q3 I+ O8 [2 a" I5 _
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the8 |, `; c" K8 f }1 v# z
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.$ @5 b) Q/ q/ C: V. l" [. H% O: _
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. $ z h: D- Z$ F# w$ d Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have- w% {' R5 c4 C
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to% T2 N4 p/ Z" W C) p1 V% G
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. ; i' o- H1 k9 K+ |0 x9 f Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital ! S* D: e' R' v5 v1 wexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties # C- e& C! a& F7 y' w6 O/ Hover the next three years. % r8 A1 C0 M$ T$ k* v1 d# s/ _1 M9 @ They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as9 |0 m; Z/ ]* K
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain : E. w2 {! c+ r7 n; n7 Gan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the: v; Y: q: [$ ]9 }" @. B
projects for the next five years. " V/ O3 Y+ }0 |: f: L: V (The Canadian Press)