OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties , w* a: T4 s# i& e J+ |owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.9 I5 U1 x9 m3 \
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 3 l5 c; G; q2 Z0 ~4 Y) a4 U/ \deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.' z _) ?& R* @! w" ~
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.: H2 K$ X0 P1 ^9 |0 }
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have$ ?2 W' q+ l+ C* c
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to 7 l$ x/ s8 h) F. s7 e5 C( I* Xacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.; `) \2 g3 P- v. B) A* m
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital" w# `# W( @( d' ? n" X
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties* c( J+ N0 s1 x$ ~% k
over the next three years.$ T# M8 t+ R V2 X! U6 e! c7 N
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as! z2 T: s8 R) _, G% b
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain * h& S" G6 o) F$ fan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 6 w* X1 K/ _' N- u$ bprojects for the next five years.) a6 \. A2 w! V# e$ m
(The Canadian Press)