OTTAWA - Ottawa has given its blessing to the sale of properties, q: ?8 Q' l4 z. ]$ a
owned by Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. to a Chinese company.' A& {( G2 W; i0 m
Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he has reviewed the+ e. M9 e: q$ l1 y
deal between Athabasca and PetroChina International Investment Co.% ~% q* Z9 k1 T- a
Ltd. and finds its is likely to be of net benefit to Canada. s! A' ~' c3 H7 t4 g Clement says PetroChina and its parent, PetroChina Co. Ltd., have7 |( B& J( _; {3 j5 X
made a number of significant commitments should they be allowed to ; }1 B; U6 e5 l- R! xacquire control of the MacKay and Dover oil sands projects.: S8 L7 `. `0 z; `( f8 O
Among other things, the Chinese concerns have agreed to capital5 X- ?" o) u4 f5 X. _ ~9 a
expenditures in excess of $250 million for developing the properties . X: U- t& Z w/ Q) Lover the next three years.) v( a4 h8 G) k8 ^- l9 v0 E
They have also pledged to increase employment levels in Canada as ]% k6 X8 J6 x6 X" ~they develop the projects over the next three years and to maintain 9 n- L/ F `; Q/ W" o; j% j0 O" Fan Alberta head office for operating companies associated with the F5 s0 S. G! i+ c. Wprojects for the next five years.. e* D0 t; @% Q# J4 Q. x
(The Canadian Press)