Talisman Energy conjures up extraordinary results

In 1992, British Petroleum sold its holdings in BP Canada, resulting in a new company now called Talisman Energy Inc. In 1993, Talisman acquired Encor Inc. to double its reserves and triple its land base. The new Talisman has over 2.7 million gross acres of proven lands in the Western Canada Basin and over 3 million gross acres of unproven lands, as well as international exploration ventures. About 52% of Talisman's production comes from natural gas, of which 75% is from Alberta and the rest from British Columbia. Crude oil and natural gas liquids account for 48% of production, mainly from Alberta. Talisman has the largest share of the Monkman field in northeastern British Columbia, Canada's largest natural gas field. Production began in 1980 and was sent to two gas dehydration plants built in the region having a total of 160 million ft3/d capacity. Further discoveries led to construction of another plant in 1991, designed to handle 130 million ft3/d. All three plants use the same basic technology, with designs taking into account the sour nature of the gas (up to 25% H2S content). The field now has ten producing wells, and Talisman plans to drill another 8-10 wells and to expand one of the gas plants in 1994. 10 figs