OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties: |3 l6 V& }( {( o
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.9 h9 _/ E4 v4 f- o8 `9 @" T
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the: \) j5 K/ P- [5 H, K3 r
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.9 l) y4 u/ R, O" ~
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada.6 I; _, ~4 O$ d. d8 e' x' j
Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have ( E3 \4 j& b( n8 ?made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to % R8 _4 P$ q+ @: Oacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects. % ?" g+ }5 M0 ?* [: W6 }( E Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital# V& s: c, l: i( s
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties0 b3 b. I- n8 @
over the next three years.0 ^7 V$ O5 L. d6 A
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as k5 x3 r0 F3 o3 r& h1 X' y4 nthey develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain h& Z8 Y. R1 m+ _
an Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the 5 }2 a0 w7 F* dprojects for the next five years.6 N! K4 Z" I( p8 b2 X0 L9 u- _
(The Canadian Press)