New Talisman strategy to focus on unconventional gas, North Sea, Southeast Asia
Source: 02-MAY-2008 Intellasia | The Canadian Press
May 2, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM International oil and gas producer Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM), set to unveil a new strategic direction in three weeks, gave shareholders a taste of what to expect Wednesday April 30 at its annual meeting in Calgary.
CEO John Manzoni, a former BP executive who took over from Jim Buckee eight months ago, said the company will focus its portfolio on growing its North American natural gas plays as well as its existing offshore operations in Southeast Asia and Norway.

It could also pursue projects in North Africa and in South America.

Assets in the North Sea off the UK, where Talisman is a significant player, will be "resized" so that the company can deliver a more sustainable level of growth, Manzoni said. That could include some divestitures in that region.

"Right now the North Sea is scrambling to grow as fast as it can, so any additional dollars that we have for investment get invested into the North Sea to grow," he told reporters after the meeting.

"So rather than that stance, we're going to position the North Sea so that we can actually hold a consistent production level."

Earlier Wednesday April 30, Talisman (TSX:TLM) reported first-quarter earnings of US$466 million, or 46 cents per share, down 10% from the same period last year, when it made some asset sales.

Net income compared to US$520 million or 49 cents per share a year ago, when Talisman recorded a US$277 million gain on asset sales.

Revenues were US$2.1 billion, compared to US$1.88 billion a year earlier.

Talisman said production for the quarter averaged 419,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, down 11% from the same period last year because of the sale of non-core assets.

The company still expects a production range of 435,000 to 460,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day for the year.

During the quarter, the company spent US$1 billion on exploration and development, down from US$1.3 billion in the same quarter of the previous year.

"During the quarter, we continued to build our position in the Outer Foothills with the acquisition of RSX Energy, which will provide many drilling locations," Manzoni said.

"In line with our intent to focus our portfolio further on our core areas, we recently entered into agreements for the sale of our assets in Denmark and Lac La Biche."

"Work on the strategy is going smoothly and, as previously indicated, we will be providing details in the third week of May."

Lauren Krugel