OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties % T! ~; m( j/ j3 F/ Eowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.5 a2 m: A2 N$ r3 V. t
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the 5 P' S) _0 A& Tdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co. 3 C0 a0 U7 y) c. ?$ q: |Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. 0 u4 z1 W3 I1 ` Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have4 p. S: K3 r; [& \( I! ~- T3 X
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to % l3 R5 _! S2 E- g' v; L! {. lacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. ) B3 }# c" n/ c) y/ k) }. B Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital 2 d9 O& I' {- j% _& Uexpenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties 0 L* ~( ^5 ^6 X( g8 T/ Eover the next three years.; Q* W0 b+ ?0 h; Z+ O# t: m6 D
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as& I1 W/ Z' p7 ]
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain ( ^* A8 I5 y7 w5 y$ pan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the ! a% e/ u/ H( w* u+ Qprojects for the next five years. 3 W2 z6 O4 J W' t/ ?! e (The Canadian Press)