From today's Globe & Mail:
"I am extremely bullish about the price of oil going forward," said James Buckee, president and chief executive officer at Calgary-based Talisman Energy Inc., which held its annual meeting yesterday.
As reported yesterday in The Globe and Mail, Talisman is seeking an exploration deal in Libya in the hopes of tapping into the North African country's large oil reserves.
"Lots of Western senior diplomats have visited and sort of publicly acknowledged the efforts of Libya to put its past behind it and to be friends with the West," Mr. Buckee said.
A former pariah state, Libya's global status has risen as its leader, Moammar Gadhafi, renounces terrorism, political observers have said.
Although Talisman has yet to sign contracts for the three exploration blocks that it is pursuing, Mr. Buckee said Libya is trying to be as "transparent" as possible with the process for bidding for oil leases.
Talisman shareholders approved a three-for-one stock split and the company's board also declared a 12.5-per-cent increase in its dividend payments for shareholders of record on June 4.
After the stock split, shareholders will be entitled to a dividend rate of 30 cents a year.
While Talisman sold its stake in a Sudanese oil joint venture in March, 2003, for $1.1-billion, Mr. Buckee faced several questions about war-torn Sudan before the annual meeting was halted. "We did our best when we were there, and the place is no better off for us leaving."
Mr. Buckee said he didn't want his company's annual meeting to become a venue for "grandstanding" by critics of firms that have done business in the African country of Sudan.
"We deeply feel for the people of Sudan and the country's troubles."
Source: globeandmail.com |
