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

To: Tomas who wrote (872)	5/3/2000 11:54:00 PM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1713

Talisman Is Expanding In North Sea - Financial Post, May 3 CALGARY - Talisman Energy Inc. is increasing its North Sea holdings with the acquisition of Texaco Inc.'s Tartan field for an undisclosed price and an asset exchange with BP Amoco and Amerada Hess. Included in the Texaco deal are Tartan's satellite Highlander and Petronella fields, and interests in adjacent exploration acreage. Talisman also announced yesterday that its asset swap involving BP Amoco and Amerada Hess will give the Canadian company a 60% interest in the undeveloped Halley oil discovery. The blocks being taken over from Texaco are between the Piper and Claymore fields where Talisman -- Canada's biggest and most international independent oil and gas producer -- recently acquired major interests. Production at the Tartan complex is expected to reach 11,000 barrels a day by mid-year, with proved and probable reserves estimated at 24 million barrels. The field is expected to continue producing until 2008, but Talisman said there is "significant upside potential in both the Tartan and Petronella fields to increase expected reserves above 40 million barrels and delay abandonment beyond 2010." The transaction with Texaco is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to British government approval. The Halley play, in which Amerada Hess will hold the other 40% and Talisman will be the operator, is estimated to contain eight million barrels of oil. BP Amoco is giving Talisman its majority interest in Halley, plus a 12.7% holding in the Fulmar field currently producing 6,500 barrels a day. In return, Talisman will assign to BP Amoco its 5% and 10% holdings in two other blocks, one of which contains the Devenick gas condensate discovery. Talisman is also transferring to Amerada Hess a 51.5% interest in two assets including the Appleton condensate find. Talisman is most widely known for its troubled involvement in Sudan, but its North Sea operations are much more significant to its operations, with oil and liquids production averaging 110,000 barrels a day in the first quarter of this year, double the rate a year ago. Operating costs averaged $9.24 a barrel. "The North Sea continues to be an area of tremendous potential to add value through operatorship and second-phase exploration and development," Jim Buckee, chief executive, said. The deal with BP Amoco and Amerada Hess "demonstrates how co-operation and alignment between operators and partners can unlock incremental value to the benefit of each other and allow development of another North Sea discovery." Talisman also announced yesterday that the U.K. government has given formal approval to Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd. to become operator of the Central North Sea producing fields, known as the Fourth Round Assets. These consist of the Claymore, Piper, Saltire, Chanter, Iona and Scapa fields, the Flotta terminal and related pipelines and undeveloped acreage. Talisman became the operator May 1 following a series of transactions with Elf Exploration, ARCO British Ltd. and Texaco Britain.