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Gold/Mining/Energy : TLM.TSE Talisman Energy -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (466)	9/22/1999 1:42:00 PM
From: Douglas V. Fant	Respond to of 1713

Zeev, FYI... 0025 GMT, 990922 Pipeline Explosion May Signal Opposition's Impatience The rebel attack on the newly inaugurated Sudanese oil pipeline on Sept. 19 may be an indication that the Umma party a group of Northern politicians ousted by the current government is becoming impatient with the course and pace of the current Libyan/Egyptian-sponsored negotiations. The rebels know that the Sudanese government is concerned about the future of its infant oil business and has pursued intensive peace efforts over the last several months to protect it. By striking the vulnerable oil pipeline the rebels are sending a clear signal to the government to make concessions now or face continuing attacks. The attack was carried out near the town of Atbara, north of Khartoum, and was clearly the work of the Umma Liberation Army (ULA). The government claims that it found an ULA insignia at the sabotage site and ULA Gen. Abdel-Rahman Saeed said, "Our forces were ordered to carry out a special operation." While not claiming direct responsibility, Ahmed Hassan, the spokesman of the Umma party, the political wing of the ULA, told Agence France-Presse, "exports of oil are vulnerable and can be protected only by a political agreement among all parties." Curiously, Sadiq al-Mahdi, who is head of the Umma party as well as the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), which includes all anti-government forces, denied that his party was involved. Al-Mahdi's denial may be tied to his political role since he has been the chief representative of the NDA at ongoing peace efforts mediated by Libya. In order to preserve his legitimacy as a negotiator, Al-Mahdi must deny that Umma's political wing was involved in the attack. The attack is a clear signal that Umma wants to dictate the terms of any eventual settlement. While the sabotage apparently only caused a two-day disruption in the oil flow, it is clear from the Umma statement that more attacks will follow if its terms aren't met at the negotiating table.

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (466)	9/23/1999 5:45:00 AM
From: Edward M. Zettlemoyer	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1713

Zeev, Kenanhora! dailynews.yahoo.com eom Ed

To: Zeev Hed who wrote (466)	10/1/1999 4:05:00 AM
From: Edward M. Zettlemoyer	Respond to of 1713

Zeev and all, North Sea Project expansion. Thursday September 30, 7:18 pm Eastern Time Elf deal part of larger North Sea plan for Talisman By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY, Sept 30 (Reuters) - Elf Aquitaine said on Thursday it has agreed in principle to sell stakes in several central North Sea oil fields to Canada's Talisman Energy Inc. (Toronto:TLM.TO - news), a transaction Talisman signaled could be part of a much larger deal. Elf Exploration UK, a unit of France's Elf, said the sale would include its equity interest in the Piper, Claymore, Saltire, Scapa and Chanter fields, all of which began producing oil after the North Sea's fourth round of licenses was granted in the late 1970s. The value of the deal was not disclosed, and Elf did not say whether the assets would be sold outright to Calgary-based Talisman or be part of an asset swap. Talisman, Canada's largest international oil producer, has been bulking up in the North Sea, most recently through its C$1.2-billion takeover of rival Rigel Energy Corp. (Toronto:RJL.TO - news), a deal that gave it a dominant stake in the Blake field of the red-hot Moray Firth region off Scotland. The deal with Elf, which itself has agreed to a friendly merger with French peer TotalFina , would also bring Talisman an interest in the fields' pipeline network as well as the Flotta oil terminal. Elf's announcement on Thursday caught Talisman by surprise, and the Canadian firm said it could be in a position to provide all the details of its plans within the next week. ``This is part of the story, that's all I'll say at this point. There are other things going on,' Mann said. ``Also, it's an agreement in principle so we want to make sure we can present all facets of the story.' He said, however, that the full deal Talisman is hammering out would include both ``asset trading as well as cash,' although no corporate takeovers were planned. The North Sea is one of the Canadian company's main operating areas. Besides the Rigel takeover, it started up two new sources of oil production in the region since April, the Ross and the Orion fields. Elf said it supported the sale of its interest to Talisman, but the final decision rested with its partners in the fields, Texaco Inc. (NYSE:TX - news) and Atlantic Richfield Co. (NYSE:ARC - news) of the United States, and Britain's Lasmo Plc (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: LSMR.L) and Intrepid Energy. The French company said it hoped to finalize the deal by the end of October, and reach agreement by early December on which company would operate the assets. eom, Ed