OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 0 j. H: b+ e- Y/ r" O$ powned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 1 n" e6 g4 `2 W/ \% d w Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the2 O1 i: P1 k* F! I! ]
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.5 y ] f' H$ _
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. : V+ G, ?3 g3 ?: N5 @/ ^5 [3 H Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have # [3 F2 w( ~5 H. gmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to " f% @7 ^/ R% J0 Eacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.* y, i, f, \' v. w; ?
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital : X- F- u/ t% Wexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties : [1 L* Q- O4 O/ Lover the next three years.4 O4 v; d; z( p- C
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as % l& c3 s& I/ g+ S$ F: Gthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain $ p1 ^$ Y+ j& e+ K2 nan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the' ^1 g$ P' B: Q' S3 l
projects for the next five years.+ n$ p, _6 q) e. ^$ p3 D X5 Y+ D
(The Canadian Press)