Talisman Energy Announces Strategic Partnership With Sasol in Montney Shale- C$ 1,050 Million Farrell Creek Asset Sale

abarrelfull wrote on 02 Jul 2012 12:06
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Dec. 19, 2010

Talisman Energy Inc. (TSX:TLM) (NYSE:TLM) today announced it has reached agreement to create a strategic partnership with Sasol Limited to develop the Farrell Creek assets in Talisman's Montney shale play in northeastern British Columbia. Talisman will sell a 50% working interest in its Farrell Creek assets to Sasol for a total consideration of C$ 1,050 million.

"This is a strategic move towards unlocking some of the value of our Montney assets for us and our new partner, consistent with the strategy of de-risking and developing Talisman's very large shale opportunities in the region," said John A. Manzoni, President & CEO of Talisman.

"We believe this transaction reflects the quality and potential of our broader Montney position. We are delighted to have Sasol as a partner. They are a world-class company and their expertise will enable us to jointly explore the option of a GTL facility in western Canada."

This transaction allows Talisman to develop the Farrell Creek area and unlock some of the value of the estimated 44 tcfe of net contingent resource held across its Montney shale play. Farrell Creek represents approximately 22% (9.6 tcfe) of Talisman's resource potential in the play and about 27% (51,000 net acres) of the company's 190,000 net Tier 1 acres of land in the Montney. Sasol will pay 25% of the consideration (approximately $260 million) in cash at closing and carry 75% of Talisman's future capital commitments in the Farrell Creek area to a total of approximately $790 million.

"The acquisition of this high quality natural gas asset will accelerate our upstream growth while also advancing Sasol's already strong GTL value proposition," said Sasol chief executive, Pat Davies.

"In partnering with a credible international shale gas operator such as Talisman, we reap the dual benefit of leveraging their experience, as we grow our own shale gas expertise," Davies said.

The play has been largely de-risked and production at Farrell Creek is expected to exit this year at between 40-60 mmcfe/d. Talisman's processing facilities at Farrell Creek have been expanded to 120 mmcf/d and the company has secured over 500 mmcf/d of egress capacity from the region.

As part of the agreement, the partners have agreed to conduct a feasibility study around the economic viability of a facility in western Canada to convert natural gas to liquid fuels, using Sasol's commercial Gas to Liquids (GTL) technology. This could provide a strategic alternative to traditional North American pipeline or LNG marketing. The outlook for GTL could be very positive if North American natural gas prices continue to decouple from oil prices. The GTL process produces premium, clean liquids fuels.

Sasol will acquire a 50% working interest in all Talisman lands, existing wells and processing facilities in the Farrell Creek region. Talisman and Sasol will each own 50% of the Farrell Creek assets, with Talisman as operator of the partnership. Talisman and Sasol have also agreed to collaborate on certain other western Canadian natural gas opportunities. Closing is expected in the first half of 2011.

• [http://www.thepressreleasewire.com/client/talisman_energy/release.jsp?actionFor=1371308&year=2010&releaseSeq=0 Talisman Energy Announces Strategic Partnership With Sasol in Montney Shale- C$ 1,050 Million Farrell Creek Asset Sale

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