OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties3 H( \7 I5 A k J$ J9 N
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company. 6 [& W7 D; R5 x' Y5 u1 Z8 F Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the , |. K K2 D7 x5 |deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.1 B: O- c; d3 I# u; K9 S2 s9 `
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. + @& \. R" s1 L S Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have% ?' r* }$ K" W- O% `
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to% v. Y# l$ U# k4 [. {' e
acquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. % o$ z1 N* U: P: Y Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital1 N0 }9 v0 w7 A7 ]0 W
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties j! P8 m1 |3 V( C# i/ D6 X: T6 E
over the next three years. 3 C! x' r2 m+ I3 N( H They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as ( J2 L. _/ I, ~- F' |2 F1 Kthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain $ d+ F% e! E4 Wan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 7 J# n" S. @5 Hprojects for the next five years. : e# C- R% j. u4 a" d2 l (The Canadian Press)