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

To: Edward M. Zettlemoyer who wrote (572)	11/18/1999 9:29:00 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1713

Ontario teachers target Talisman - The Globe & Mail, Nov.18 OTF head will urge fund to divest stake if Sudanese human rights violations are confirmed STEVEN CHASE Alberta Bureau Thursday, November 18, 1999 Calgary -- Ontario teachers say they will lobby their powerful pension fund to divest its $184-million stake in Talisman Energy Inc. if they can corroborate mounting evidence of human rights violations in Sudan where the Calgary-based company operates. "As far as teachers are concerned, human rights are far more important than dollars," said Barbara Sargent, president of the Ontario Teachers Federation (OTF), whose members' retirement funds are managed by the Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board. The OTF represents 144,000 full-time, part-time and occasional teachers in public, separate and francophone schools. This most recent divestment threat would represent the single largest setback to Talisman in its battle to defend its $735-million investment in civil-war-torn Sudan, whose poor human rights record is facing further accusations of slavery and genocide. The Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board is among the top shareholders in Talisman, according to a Bloomberg Inc. survey of security holders. Plan officials confirmed the fund holds 4.5 million shares, worth about $184.5-million at yesterday's closing market prices. That's about 3.26 per cent of Talisman's market value. The OTF appoints half the directors of the eight-member pension plan board; the provincial government appoints the others. Directors appointed by the OTF are not bound to act on the orders of the federation. Ms. Sargent's sentiments appear to clash with the board's own approach. Board spokeswoman Lee Fullerton said yesterday that the fund plans to stick with Talisman. "We are not considering divestment of Talisman," she said. "We do not have the legal authority to restrict investment based on social or ethical criteria, so selling our holdings in Talisman is not an option." However, Ms. Fullerton said the board is watching events in the Sudan carefully and is glad that the federal government is sending investigators to the African nation. Ottawa threatened sanctions against Talisman in late October unless it did more to help end the Sudanese misery. Ottawa said it would send monitors to look for signs that oil revenue from the project is helping the Sudanese government fight the war. It warned that it could take action if evidence is found. "We're very glad to see the Canadian government take some initiative to investigate the situation in Sudan because we believe peace is the answer over there, and anything governments around the world can do to help with the situation is the right approach," Ms. Fullerton said. Talisman officials could not be reached for comment yesterday. Company president James Buckee and his staff were en route home from a Talisman-sponsored tour of the Sudanese project for analysts and media. The OTF's statements follow months of mounting criticism of Talisman. Stories in The Globe and Mail last month and a United Nations report released several weeks ago alleged that a civil war for control of oil-rich regions has led to human rights abuses and the displacement of countless people. The UN Commission on Human Rights said several weeks ago in its report that the Sudanese government, dominated by northern Islamic Arabs, has been forcibly displacing people from the south to clear suspected saboteurs from those oil-rich areas and from transportation routes. Ms. Sargent said she will be talking to pension plan president and chief executive officer Claude Lamoureux about her concerns, as well as to the OTF members on the board. "If we find this happening, they will be asked to divest," Ms. Sargent said. She was appointed OTF president in August. Such a divestment would please anti-Sudan lobbyists, who say Talisman is inadvertently contributing to the war by investing there. (Many critics are U.S.-based Christian lobbyists who fear a holy war is hurting Christians in the Sudan.) They point to an Agence France-Presse report from the capital of Khartoum on April 30 that quotes a Sudanese leader as saying the government would use oil earnings to set up factories to build missiles and tanks for the war. Several investors have sold their holdings in Talisman recently despite a bull market for energy stocks that could have more life left in it. The Texas Teachers Pension Plan sold its tiny 100,000-share stake for undisclosed reasons. A major investor, Manning & Napier Advisors Inc. of Rochester, N.Y., cleaned out its position of more than a million shares. Manning spokesman Richard Barrington said he is aware of the Sudanese controversy but that the fund sold Talisman to take a profit, not to dodge criticism. "We had a good gain on it," he said. "We certainly paid attention to [the controversy], especially from the standpoint of what would be the investment consequences." He was careful not to criticize protesters seeking divestments of Talisman stock, though. "I am not disrespecting the people who are lobbying on that score." Mr. Buckee has vehemently defended his company in interviews during the past several months. He says there are two sides to the story and the Sudan is being "unfairly blackened" by critics. "There's a huge machine generating false things about Sudan, and it's very hard to separate fact from fiction." Mr. Buckee says it's not his role to defend the government or the country's history, but he does say the nation is losing a propaganda war because it does "a very poor job of presenting a better face." Talisman shares gained $1 on the Toronto Stock Exchange yesterday to close at $41. TALISMAN'S REVENUE By area, nine months to Sept. 30, '99 Canada ---- $601-million ---- 47.3% North Sea ---- $466.5-million ---- 36.7% Indonesia ---- $180-million ---- 14.1% Sudan ---- $23.9-million ---- 1.9% TOTAL REVENUE ---- $1.3-billion

To: Edward M. Zettlemoyer who wrote (572)	11/21/1999 8:08:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1713

Seniors are best energy plays - Financial Post, Nov.20: Talisman By Sonita Horvitch For investors in energy stocks, who are convinced the strength oil and gas prices is sustainable, the recent correction in the sector should be seen as a buying opportunity, says Jeffrey Francoz, president of MMI Group Inc. in Toronto. "The way to play this is to choose senior oil and gas producers as these stocks offer some liquidity." A value manager, Mr. Francoz seeks out stocks where the market has not fully recognized the underlying value of the company. He says there has been unusual disparity between the price of commodities and the valuation of exploration and development companies since mid-August when oil and gas shares pulled back significantly. This left leading energy firms trading at cash-flow multiples that were comparable to those in place at the bottom of the energy cycle in February, 1999, before the dramatic recovery in oil and gas prices. Mr. Francoz argues that the fundamentals "support stable, if not increasing energy prices." When it comes to oil, members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries are exercising "reasonable discipline in sticking to their production cuts." Furthermore, world reserves are declining, he says. Gas is subject to different production and delivery dynamics. Pipeline infrastructure additions have ensured deliverability of Canadian-produced gas to the larger U.S. markets, which may result in demand exceeding existing supply. There is growing concern, he says, about a "burgeoning supply shortage due to the triple whammy of high decline rates on existing wells, low exploration and development spending over the past 18 months, and increased difficulty finding significant new reserves in the western Canadian sedimentary basin." Mr. Francoz emphasizes senior producers, where he favours: ... Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM/TSE) $40 ($49.15-$22.10). This company, also in Calgary, is engaged in the exploration and development of oil and natural gas in Canada, the North Sea, Indonesia and the Sudan. It has exploration activities in Algeria, Trinidad and Peru. "The company has successfully combined both strategic acquisitions and internal exploration and development to enhance its oil and gas assets." Mr. Francoz expects cash flow of $8.25 a share for 1999 and at least $10.50 for 2000. The stock is trading at a very modest multiple to its expected cash flow per share, says Mr. Francoz, "due to the political uncertainty surrounding its operations in the Sudan." Should the recent appointment by Ottawa of John Harker to investigate Talisman's operations in the Sudan, result in conclusions that are unfavourable to the company, it could sell the assets "at a significant profit." At a cost to Talisman of about $750-million, its Sudanese assets represent 10% of its total oil and gas assets, he notes. "This is certainly a modest risk exposure to a very prolific region." Full article: nationalpost.com