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Gold/Mining/Energy : Canadian Oil & Gas Companies -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Scott Mc who wrote (9680)	3/4/2003 11:20:49 PM
From: Check	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24931

Hi Scott, <<Cheap at 3x cash flow for last year...>> Make that 2.6x annualized Q4. oilpatchupdates.com

To: Scott Mc who wrote (9680)	3/5/2003 7:30:45 AM
From: Kerm Yerman	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 24931

Portfolio Stock / Talisman Energy Reuters Talisman profit surges on high oil, gas prices Tuesday March 4, 7:17 pm ET By Jeffrey Jones CALGARY, Alberta, March 4 (Reuters) - Talisman Energy Inc. (Toronto:TLM.TO) said on Tuesday its fourth-quarter profit more than quadrupled as sky-high oil and gas prices erased the impact of a drop in output at Canada's No. 2 oil explorer and producer. Talisman also moved to reassure investors that the C$1.1 billion ($758 million) sale of its stake in Sudan's major oil project to India's national oil company was on track to close in March, despite months of delay. But the company will reap financial rewards from nearly three months of unexpected production from the controversial asset as oil prices surge, it said. The sale to India's Oil and Natural Gas Corp., partly aimed at freeing Talisman from years of criticism by human rights groups and factions of the U.S. government over its interest in Sudan, site of a two-decade civil war, was originally expected to close at the end of 2002. Talisman, also known for extensive operations in Canada, the United States, North Sea and Southeast Asia, earned C$182 million, or C$1.33 a share, in the fourth quarter, up from year-earlier C$40 million, or 25 Canadian cents a share. That lagged an average estimate of C$1.56 a share among analysts polled by Thomson first Call. Cash flow, an indicator of an oil company's ability to fund development, was C$759 million, or C$5.72 a share, up from C$503 million, or C$3.75 a share, in the fourth quarter of 2001. For the full year, earnings fell to C$524 million, or C$3.73 a share, from C$733 million, or C$5.25 a share, a drop Talisman blamed on higher non-cash expenses, exploration charges and a provision for increased British taxes. Chief executive Jim Buckee said he expected Talisman to generate more than C$21 a share in cash flow this year, up 6.4 percent from 2002, assuming U.S. benchmark oil at $28.50 a barrel and gas averaging $5 a thousand cubic feet. "And with current prices well above these estimates we are likely to substantially exceed this," Buckee said in a statement. During the fourth quarter, Talisman's realized oil and gas prices surged 53 percent from the year before, it said. Companies across the oil industry have reported rich quarterly profits, after oil prices surged over fears of a war in Iraq and the strike that cut shipments from major exporter Venezuela. Natural gas prices leaped as cold weather hit major North American consuming regions and inventories dwindled. Those same factors have pushed prices up even higher in recent weeks. During the quarter, Talisman produced 442,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, down 4 percent from the same period of 2001. It had warned of lower output last fall after being hit by delays in some projects. Buckee forecast 2003 production at 395,000-415,000 barrels a day, including about 60,000 barrels a day of output from Sudan in the first quarter due to the postponed close of the sale. "Coupled with the repurchase of 5.8 million shares over the past four months, we should beat our earlier production guidance of 5 percent production per share growth in 2003, excluding Sudan," he said. Talisman shares closed up 44 Canadian cents at C$59.10 in Toronto, up about 3 percent this year and outpacing a 1 percent increase in the Toronto Stock Exchange's oil and gas group.