OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties 3 d; N9 p' H1 u. ~( Lowned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. . m0 ~8 S/ s) `2 ~% U& e4 F" } Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the % a- h: [, W9 \' sdeal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.2 m) I8 q1 d2 S7 x0 V
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.- u8 w6 ?* z% V p* u9 m& Q
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have+ s' ]! v3 a' ~* U
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to |- T) w- f' ]4 e' oacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.. G% p! Y0 k3 q9 _# P
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital# r) i# X; Z- [2 x0 \
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties$ w4 \+ }3 D! K6 T4 v- P" Y( j
over the next three years.- z7 `: b& z( y. Y- N
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as/ ^9 f) X: [# L3 N1 _& j
they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain ) j6 O( ?$ B) R$ ~+ |- U/ Fan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 5 L9 f. a1 p Y6 L! wprojects for the next five years. 8 z7 [) l) Y" E0 d9 ~& U* h/ F# B2 S (The Canadian Press)