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

To: Tomas who wrote (1613)	5/2/2000 9:54:00 AM
From: Mantis	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

Report urges U.S. government to bar Talisman from issuing stock from Globe & Mail, May 2, 2000 see www.globeandmail.com Washington -- Talisman Energy Corp. should be barred from raising money in the United States so long as it does business in war-torn Sudan, a U.S. government advisory panel has urged the Clinton Administration in a scathing new report. The two-year-old U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom called yesterday for a sweeping crackdown against the Islamic regime's "genocidal civil war" in southern Sudan, including strict new capital market restrictions on companies that invest in its rich oil and gas fields. "We are looking for the government to play a more assertive role in making sure that companies that are benefiting from the Sudanese oil effort are not able to benefit from U.S. markets," commission chairman David Saperstein told a news conference in Washington. The measures would close a "serious loophole" in U.S. sanctions against Sudan and prevent U.S. investors "from inadvertently helping to fund crimes against humanity," he said. This report is the latest attack on Calgary-based Talisman, which has been harshly criticized by the Clinton administration as well as U.S. and Canadian religious groups for refusing to sell its 25-per-cent stake in a joint venture oil project. The company's detractors say cash from the project is fuelling a bloody 17-year conflict. In February, the U.S. Treasury Department extended economic sanctions to prohibit all U.S. companies from dealing with Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Co. Ltd., a joint venture between a Sudanese state oil company, Talisman, and Chinese and Malaysian companies. But those measures failed to block a $3-billion (U.S.) initial public offering last month by PetroChina, which owns 40 per cent of the Blue Nile project though subsidiary China National Petroleum Co. "We don't know how much [money] is going to Sudan," said Mr. Saperstein, a rabbi and director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. "That's the whole point." Talisman, whose common and preferred shares are listed on the New York Stock Exchange, has so far kept its activities largely immune from U.S. government sanctions. But a boycott directed at Talisman's major U.S. shareholders has given the company a black eye in the investment community. The proposed new capital ban would affect its ability to issue debt in the United States. The company has $575-million (U.S.) worth of U.S. preferred shares and other U.S.-issued debt. Talisman spokesman David Mann said limiting Talisman's access to U.S. capital would do nothing to foster peace in Sudan. "We support the Canadian government view that constructive engagement in Sudan is probably the best chance for peace," he said from Calgary. "And constructive engagement comes about through dialogue and investment." Mr. Mann added that talk of further investment restrictions is "speculative," because the report isn't government policy. The recommendations are contained in the Commission on International Religious Freedom's first annual report, an 80-page document delivered yesterday to President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. Commission officials pointed out that the proposed new capital markets ban would apply to Talisman only if it tried to issue new shares or other investments in the United States. "They are free to trade shares that are already being traded, but there would be no new shares," noted Elliott Abrams, a commission member. In its report, the commission also recommended that any company "engaged in revenue-generating activities in the United States" should have to submit regular reports to the U.S. government on its involvement in Sudan's oil and gas business. The commission also urged the Clinton Administration to set up a military no-fly zone over Sudan, boost United Nations food aid and consider delivering "non-lethal" aid to opposition groups if diplomatic pressure fails. "This war must be brought to an end and the U.S. government must act more effectively to end it," Mr. Saperstein noted. He added that the U.S. administration will have some "significant differences" with the commission's report, "but we hope they will be relatively few," he said. The report also dealt with religious freedom in China. The report said the U.S. Congress should not normalize trade with China until the communist regime improves its record on the treatment of religious groups. The report said the United States should also "use its influence" to make sure China does not get to host the Olympic games until it improves its human rights record.

To: Tomas who wrote (1613)	5/4/2000 12:06:00 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2742

PNG to Queensland Gas Secured - Australian Financial Review, April 29 The $A5 billion gas pipeline between Papua New Guinea and Queensland received a boost in April 2000. Participants in the PNG gas fields of Hides, Kutubu and Gobe have agreed to dedicate their reserves to the project. The move signals the entry of United States giant Exxon Mobil, which holds a 47.5 per cent stake in Hides. Project operator Chevron Corporation said the agreement secured gas supplies of up to 7600 million standard cubic feet per day to Queensland, over 30 years.