OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 3 x, p N( \+ ~; D7 }. T; Y. Powned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.9 F. D9 P& k" L
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the: |& r# E9 x: x4 i
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.) L. r/ V. ^2 @' R0 W! `
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. 7 t) q- g n( T7 C Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have* X- E( f7 ]# |) s9 d. b
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to 1 q/ _% y9 ~6 v8 Racquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.1 o j" y5 r) g& m' s" s9 S' O
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital$ S0 F3 t( g. u' I1 m$ Y3 ?
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties; h& ]% _, c& Q) {/ g$ @# W x
over the next three years. 8 I f3 E6 W7 ]* y7 S They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as$ w1 S$ b3 E4 T0 |, d4 u) ~
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain / V* S5 N9 e) [5 v. {an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 6 \: b$ ?" y5 V: a; q' zprojects for the next five years. 3 n6 ~" b+ f& m F1 V (The Canadian Press)