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Gold/Mining/Energy : Lundin Oil (LOILY, LOILB Sweden) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Razorbak who wrote (1554)	3/21/2000 10:15:00 PM
From: Timelord	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

I resemble that remark <ggg>. <eom>

To: Razorbak who wrote (1554)	5/8/2000 8:06:00 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Buckee speaks on Sudan controversy. The head of Talisman Energy says his firm's oil project is helping the country The Globe and Mail, Monday, May 8 Calgary -- Last week was a tough one for Jim Buckee. The Talisman Energy Inc. president and chief executive officer presided over an annual meeting marked again by protests against the Calgary-based company's controversial investment in Sudan. He sat down at the end of last week with Calgary correspondent Steven Chase and economics columnist Madelaine Drohan to talk about the history of the project, the effect the long-running civil war has on the oil operations, and the future of his company in Sudan. Here is an edited portion of that interview: The Globe and Mail: Every country has its problems and you've operated in the Middle East. But this is the first time troubles have followed you back home. Did you think it would haunt you like that? Jim Buckee: Probably not to this extent. And to a certain extent it's not rational, because there are lots of countries with strife and there are lots of other companies active in the Sudan. The vehemence that we have attracted seems disproportionate. You can't have a general rule but only apply it to one person. There's sort of an illusion here too because we joined the project, and we helped for sure. But it looks as if we joined the project and a year later the oil started -- therefore, we work miracles. We like to think we're good, but not that good. Globe: Of the roads, water and electricity you have put in, how much would you have had to do anyway for the oil development? Mr. Buckee: A lot of it is explicitly good neighbour [policy]. We've mapped out or we are in the process of mapping out who we see to be our stakeholders. Those communities who are within a reasonable distance of us should feel they are benefiting. Globe: Can you put a dollar figure on what you did in excess of what you would have done regardless? Mr. Buckee: It's in the seven figures. Globe: Regarding safety on the pipeline -- has there ever been anyone killed either guarding the pipeline or working for the consortium? Mr. Buckee: We have had fatalities, but they are always due to road accidents. Quite often the contractors have Chinese drivers who are not very good drivers. Globe: What about reports of an attack on an oil rig? Mr. Buckee: There was an attack on rig 15 and that was in quite a remote area. Two people, subcontractors, were killed. There were army [soldiers] on the site, they repulsed the attack. . . . The army sent down reinforcements and hit a land mine on the way down. Globe: The two oil workers who were killed, were they expatriate workers? Mr. Buckee: No, they were local contract hires. Globe: Do you feel unfairly targeted by your critics? Mr. Buckee: Yes. This war has been going on for 45 years. We didn't start it. It doesn't start or end with us. It is not Talisman that is killing people, and in fact, this oil development of itself has been a spur to international diplomatic activity. Globe: Who might be interested in taking over your share of the consortium if you decided to leave? Mr. Buckee: There are some European companies, Hungarian, the Russians have asked. There is Middle East interest. Globe: Have you been approached? Mr. Buckee: Yes. Globe: Are you thinking of selling off part of your stake? Mr. Buckee: No. Globe: Why don't you have an independent evaluation done right away? Your critics would go away if you could produce an independent report that said allegations of atrocities were unfounded. Mr. Buckee: We took analysts and journalists in to look at things through our eyes, and they came back and said, "I don't know what all the fuss is about. There's empty space. There's nobody dead in this place." We have hired two people to be resident in Sudan. We already have somebody managing the community development interactive with the NGOs [non-governmental organizations]. And we have also recently hired a 29-year-old Dinka. He's much better able to act as a go-between to the local villages that are quite often half Dinka, half Nuer, and find out what they really think, what's really going on, and communicate. Globe: What about the future? Is there a lot more potential? And where is it? Mr. Buckee: It's a big area and it will take a long time to really fully appraise the potential. Also, the middle of it is very deep -- too deep for the equipment we've got there. So that's another element. But we see, funnily enough, prospectivity increasing to the south. Globe: Why is that funny? Mr. Buckee: Well, it's in the southerners area, and it sometimes crosses my mind that there's an angle here that could be used. I don't want to explore it in public, but the fact [is] that people can't get into the south to do oil exploration. But if the exploration is good for the community, it would benefit by allowing exploration to the south. Globe: Do you see the government's attitude changing? Mr. Buckee: Yes I do. The cumulative effect of international involvement will encourage both sides that there is a better way than continuing this situation.