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

To: Tommaso who wrote (1219)	5/2/2001 8:33:35 AM
From: Tomas	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1713

Talisman awash in oil cash CEO Jim Buckee chastised for company's lucrative operations in Sudan Calgary Herald, May 2 Stephen Ewart Talisman Energy Inc. announced a record $346 million first-quarter profit and instituted its first-ever dividend at its annual shareholders meeting Tuesday. Yet, that wasn't enough to keep chief executive Jim Buckee from being vilified for operating in war-ravaged Sudan. Talisman predicted it will generate $3 billion in cash flow, surpass $1 billion in profit and will become the first Canadian oil company to produce more than 500,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2001. And Buckee was accused of propping up a murderous regime in Sudan. Talisman installed David Powell as its new chairman and Buckee predicted a natural gas pipeline out of the Mackenzie Delta could be a decade away because it will take a back seat to an Alaskan route. And he was compared with the stubborn character Alec Guinness played in the movie The Bridge on the River Kwai -- blindly following a rigid devotion to a plan while losing all sight of reality. For more than an hour, Buckee heard shareholders disparage Talisman for its profitable operations in the troubled north African country. "They are one element of a complex situation and we give them a forum to vent their view," Buckee said afterward. While a majority of people at the meeting repeatedly applauded when Buckee listed the company's accomplishments, a group of expatriate Sudanese, human rights activists and church leaders questioned its role in the ongoing civil war. "The situation is worse in Sudan than it was a year ago despite what Talisman says," said Georgette Gagnon, a human rights lawyer and a member of the mission Ottawa dispatched to Sudan in 1999 to investigate widespread allegations of human rights abuses. The federal government has given Talisman permission to keep its operations in Sudan despite a report from the mission led by John Harker that said oil is exacerbating conflicts in the country. Ottawa has urged Talisman to work for peace in Sudan and Buckee said the company is an advocate for human rights with the government and is bringing health and education to many people. Gagnon just returned from Sudan and said he plans to lobby Ottawa to change its position of "constructive engagement" in the country. When activist shareholder Mel Middleton yelled "Get out of Sudan," Buckee replied that would be the wrong response to what he called a tragic situation that began decades before Talisman arrived. "The right response is to stay there and do the best things we can," he said. The 18-year civil war has killed two million people. Talisman has owned 25 per cent of the Sudan-based Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company since 1998. Its partners are the state-owned petroleum companies of China, Malaysia and Sudan. By the time outgoing chairman Peter Widdrington called an end to the meeting, there were still several people lined up at microphones. All but one of the questions dealt with Sudan. "They are shareholders and they get a chance to ask questions, but I think some of the speechifying abused that right," said analyst Brian Prokop of Peters & Co. Ltd. "All in all, they (Talisman) dealt with the whole issues of security and letting in dissenting shareholders appropriately." Talisman which also has operations in Canada, the North Sea and Indonesia, signaled the strong financial results would continue by boosting spending and starting the 60-cent-per-share annual dividend. It said earnings in the first quarter jumped to $346 million, or $2.46 a share, from $206.2 million, or $1.44 a share, a year ago. Cash flow rose to $764 million, or $5.64 a share, up from $571 million, or $4.13 a share. calgaryherald.com