Talisman Energy

Talisman Energy Inc.
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Type	Public (TSX: TLM, NYSE: TLM))
Industry	Oil and Gasoline
Founded	Calgary, Alberta
Headquarters	Calgary, Alberta
Key people	John A. Manzoni, CEO, Scott Thomson, CFO
Products	Crude Oil and Natural Gas
Revenue	12pxC$7.528 billion (2009)
Employees	2,820 (2009)
Website	www.talisman-energy.com

Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX: TLM) is one of Canada's largest petroleum SB companies. Based in Calgary, Alberta, Talisman Energy has operations around the globe including: Canada (B.C., Alberta, Ontario, Saskatchewan, Quebec) and the United States of America (Pennsylvania, New York, Texas ) in North America; Colombia and Peru in South America; Algeria in North Africa; United Kingdom, Norway and Poland in Europe; Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Papa New Guinea and Australia in the Far East; and Kurdistan in the Middle East. Talisman Energy has also built the offshore Beatrice Wind Farm Demonstrator in the North Sea off the coast of Scotland.

In the past the company grew quickly by a number of mergers and acquisitions, and as such has a complex history and large diversity of holdings. Talisman was the first Canadian company to join the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Plenary Group and is a participant in the United Nations Global Compact.

History

After a split from British Petroleum, Talisman Energy sold off money losing mining operations and focused on its large natural gas holdings in British Columbia, Canada.

In 1992, BP Canada became established as Talisman Energy and subsidiary Fortuna Petroleum, which became one of the first international oil companies to do business with Cuba.

In 1993, Talisman Energy bought Encor Inc from BCE, doubling in size and becoming one of Canada's largest petroleum companies.

In 1994, Talisman Energy bought Bow Valley Energy from British Gas PLC, gaining more assets in Canada and an important presence in the North Sea and Southeast Asia. In 1995 it pulled out of Cuba to focus on these areas.

In 1997, Talisman Energy launched a takeover bid of Wascana Energy, a former crown corporation of the Saskatchewan government. It got into a bidding war over Wascana with Canadian Occidental Petroleum (now Nexen), and failed in its attempt. It continued its aggressive expansion, investing in the North Sea and Indonesia and in 1997 bought the smaller Pembina Resources.

In 1998, Talisman made one of its most controversial moves when it purchased Arakis Energy, which was involved in the Sudanese oil industry through a 25% interest an oil project operated by the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company (GNPOC). GNPOC was a consortium co-owned by the national petroleum company of China (40%), the national oil company of Malaysia (30%), and the national petroleum company of Sudan (5%).^[2] At the time, the Second Sudanese Civil War was under way and the government of Sudan was almost totally reliant on oil revenues for its war effort. This war effort was repeatedly accused of war crimes, human rights abuses, and genocide. International observers accused the Sudanese government of forcibly displacing residents to make way for oil exploration and exploitation. As conditions in Sudan worsened, an international outcry developed, led by NGOs and churches. They called for divestment in Talisman shares and pushed the Canadian government to penalize the company. As part of this protest, the Presbyterian Church of Sudan sued the company in an American court for genocide, stating that Talisman had helped Sudanese officials "bomb churches, kill church leaders and attack villages in an effort to clear the way for oil exploration." In an unprecedented event, an American judge decided the lawsuit was valid, but it was later dismissed by the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The court concluded that the plaintiffs had no admissible evidence to support the claims against Talisman Energy. The finding in the U.S. lawsuit is consistent with the report of the Harker mission in 2000, which admonished Talisman for not doing enough to stop human rights abuses by other groups, but did not find that Talisman had actively aided in any atrocities.^[2] In 2000, Talisman attempted to respond constructively, initiating an annual, third-party verified, "Corporate Responsibility Report" and implementing procedures for monitoring the company's compliance with the International Code of Ethics for Canadian Business.^[3] In 2003, Talisman Energy divested the Sudan interest acquired through the Arakis acquisition, selling its holdings to Indian company ONGC Videsh. Whether this divestiture benefited the people of Sudan is highly questionable, with concern having been raised by one NGO active in the region: "If you pressure Talisman to leave Sudan then will the remaining actors take any action to address these critical issues? At least Talisman has taken notice and responded ...".^[3]

In 1999, Talisman Energy acquired Rigel Energy.

Since then, Talisman has expanded its operation in Southeast Asia and in the North Sea, with a brief exploration operations in South Eastern Trinidad & Tobago. 2005 also saw rumours that Talisman may be bought by Total.

On May 30, 2007, the company announced the retirement of its longtime President & CEO, James Buckee. John Manzoni, formerly of BP, was named as his successor, effective September 1, 2007.

Corporate governance

Current members of the board of directors of Talisman Energy are: Christiane Bergevin, Donald Carty, William R.P. Dalton, Kevin S. Dunne, Harold Kvisle, John A. Manzoni, Lisa Stewart, Peter Tomsett, John D. Watson, Charles R. Williamson, and Charles Winograd.^[4]