Talisman CEO says U.S. sanctions unlikely
Energy firm hopeful new Senate bill means no action will be taken on Sudan operations
The Globe & Mail, July 31
By LILY NGUYEN
CALGARY -- Talisman Energy Inc. chief executive officer Jim Buckee is optimistic his company will never have to face U.S. capital market sanctions over its involvement in war-torn Sudan, citing recent political developments in the United States.
"I am hopeful that capital market sanctions will not be enacted against oil companies operating in the Sudan, particularly given the recent view stated by the [President George W.] Bush administration, and by the absence of these provisions in the bill approved by the Senate," Mr. Buckee said, speaking during a company conference call to announce second-quarter results.
Last week, the U.S. Senate passed a version of the Sudan Peace Act that, while condemning the civil conflict in Sudan that is being blamed for extensive human rights abuses, stopped short of stripping oil companies operating there of their listings on U.S. stock exchanges.
A few days later, a Dow Jones News Service story quoted an unnamed source in the Bush administration saying the President is against imposing capital market sanctions. Such sanctions "would significantly damage our relations with European and African countries that are essential to the peace process in Sudan," the story quoted the source as saying.
Analysts have said the two events are dispelling a shadow that has hung over the company since June, when the U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly in favour of denying Talisman and other oil companies operating in Sudan access to U.S. capital markets.
But Randy Ollenberger, an analyst with Merril Lynch in Calgary, cautioned that political developments in the United States are difficult to predict.
"It could still go any way. The company clearly believes nothing's going to happen, and that would be consistent . . . The U.S. government hasn't historically been that interventionist."
In order for a bill to become law in the United States, the House and the Senate have to pass it and the president must approve it.
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