OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 1 w- w0 T( C" d& R6 jowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.5 {! r. W7 m. @& o
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the " o# e( b h* P' _2 T: Vdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.7 J- d' \( {# N l' f0 V0 s
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. 3 U4 @3 Z8 M( B! z' |$ z( c7 d Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have $ E5 {) y, f2 V+ {6 t1 w- Z# zmade a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to ; t( |/ B1 R& _7 J" L# T+ A: jacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.6 _- }" f& n$ t9 H( V2 L; X- P
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital c( Q C1 [6 c Jexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties& O: {# z8 A/ [# `( Q0 }9 t
over the next three years. - I) S* R- F3 Y+ l' c; r- f They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as; \6 K8 `# z' |9 N
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain & b$ @ X c6 Y2 ]$ t. d' Ean Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the4 V3 ~- Y4 s/ g6 r8 J- D( @
projects for the next five years. 6 |/ A3 X$ N) Q: |4 O" i (The Canadian Press)