Canadian Natural: No Interest In Buying Talisman N Sea Assets
14:33 EST Thursday, November 06, 2008
OTTAWA -(Dow Jones)- Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. (CNQ) has no interest in snapping up Talisman Energy Inc.'s (TLM) North Sea assets, President Steve Laut said Thursday.
Canada's second-biggest oil and gas producer is on the lookout for acquisitions in the region, which would play to the company's strengths in managing mature fields, Laut said in an interview.
Calgary-based peer Talisman, meanwhile, has had a package of U.K. North Sea assets on the block since May.
"We did look at what [Talisman] had but they were all minority stakes," Laut said. "We would need to control our assets."
Canadian Natural has made sharp cuts to its 2009 capital spending plans in the wake of the tumult in financial markets and plummeting crude prices, which hit a 20-month low near $60 a barrel Thursday. The company now expects to spend C$4 billion next year, 47% below its 2008 budget, but is still keeping an eye out for acquisition opportunities.
However, potential targets in the North Sea are thin on the ground, Laut said.
Talisman's North Sea bundle is part of some 45,000 barrels a day it hopes to sell by the end of next year as it refocuses its portfolio. In June, the company suggested it could rake in C$3 billion from these asset sales on surging commodity prices, but it is now concerned that bids will be too weak.
-By Hyun Young Lee, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0669; hyunyoung.lee@ dowjones.com