OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties; ]6 k) a+ Q# c. x2 C; M3 J/ j
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 0 O: x* {. `! }( W Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the/ d$ V& {$ j" z* {( u/ [; L& H
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.2 t4 ]# v' t3 E: }2 m# r
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. " C5 I" v' W# D- M; Z Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have ! {9 F' R3 P7 T% J3 a8 h9 [made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to) ^$ y( C+ }: A7 y
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.) E* C) n. d) I; a
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital: V/ F: n. O( E5 M/ A# R7 p2 A
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 9 d4 o' d! j1 H1 W% q3 tover the next three years. . Y$ g8 E" q" X, W" J They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as* h9 T2 ~: l7 r& X
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain( `3 K# i! _ a
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the2 l* y7 c* i6 t( n7 n
projects for the next five years. # o( Y) @" o! n' P2 t (The Canadian Press)