Talisman will act as operator of the exploration project, OMV said.

OMV Buys 30% Stake In Norwegian Exploration License
04:46 EDT Monday, June 23, 2008

VIENNA -(Dow Jones)- Austrian oil and gas company OMV AG (OMV.VI) Monday said it has acquired a 30% interest in a Norwegian offshore exploration license, bringing its total exploration projects in the Scandinavian country to six.
"We are well on track to build up a strong position in Norway and seek to further this by securing additional high quality exploration acreage in the future," OMV executive board member Werner Auli said in a statement.
The new license is located in the Norwegian North Sea 300 kilometers southwest of the city of Stavanger. OMV's Norwegian subsidiary OMV AS acquired the 30% stake from the Norwegian unit of Canadian Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) and Danish energy company DONG's Norwegian subsidiary DONG E&P Norge AS.
Talisman and DONG continue to hold stakes of 42% and 28%, respectively. Talisman will act as operator of the exploration project, OMV said.
OMV was awarded four offshore exploration licenses in Norway in 2007, and one in February 2008. Of the total six licenses, two are located in the Barents Sea, two in the North Sea and two in the Norwegian Sea.
Company Web site: www.omv.com
-By Flemming E. Hansen, Dow Jones Newswires; +43 1 513 69 22 10; flemming.hansen@dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-23-08 0446ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc

Talisman CEO sees $90.00 per barrel oil

Talisman CEO Sees Oil Prices Staying Above $90/Bbl Next 2 Yrs
07:37 EDT Monday, June 23, 2008

(This article was originally published Friday)
CALGARY (Dow Jones)--Crude oil prices are likely to stay above $90 a barrel in the next couple of years as resource-rich nations continue to squeeze out foreign investment, Talisman Energy Inc.'s (TLM) chief executive said Friday.
Speaking at an event in Calgary, John Manzoni added that the oil market was clearly "in a structural fix" with supply growth lagging demand, rather than speculative activity fueling the high prices.
"It's going to stay structurally high for a year or two," Manzoni said, adding "certainly not at $140 a barrel...but at $90 plus."
The back end of the oil price curve reflects the marginal cost of supply, he said, noting that oil prices flattened out at the $70/bbl level a few years ago as it became more economical to bring on higher-cost crude, such as from Alberta's vast oil sands.
But the multibillion-dollar revenues generated by oil companies as prices surged past $100/bbl have prompted a number of oil-rich nations to renegotiate contract terms, sometimes forcibly, as in Venezuela and Russia. Some Canadian provinces such as Alberta have also raised their share of energy revenues.
"It's not money in this world that's short, it's opportunity," Manzoni said. " It's the opportunities to invest that money which are the limiting factors."
He added that natural gas prices were also likely to remain above $8-$9/mmBtu, noting that half of new U.S. supplies were coming from high-cost tight gas plays.
Alternative sources are still "another technology cycle and a half" away, and only a major slowdown in demand will curb the oil price rally, Manzoni said.
Oil producers such as the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries have consistently maintained that speculative fund money and the weakening dollar have powered the surge in oil prices, rather than an imbalance in supply and demand.
While speculation and currency fluctuations are issues, they aren't driving the long-term oil price, Manzoni said. He noted that the amount of money piling into longer-dated oil contracts has increased "dramatically,"but it's not all speculative fund money that's investing for the short term.
-By Hyun Young Lee, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0669; hyunyoung.lee@ dowjones.com (END) Dow Jones Newswires
06-23-08 0736ET
Copyright (c) 2008 Dow Jones & Company, Inc

Saudi's increase oil without citing any specific output increase.

Saudis offer more oil TheStar.com - World - Saudis offer more oil


AP PHOTO/ / CARL DE SOUZA
Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown, left, talks with Saudi Arabia's Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal, in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, Sunday June 22, 2008.
June 22, 2008

JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia (AP) – Saudi Arabia is willing to produce more oil if customers need it, the kingdom's oil minister said Sunday without citing any specific output increase.
Saudi Arabia, the world's largest oil exporter, has been under intense pressure from the U.S. and other oil consumers to increase its crude output to help slow the soaring price of oil.

The kingdom already announced modest increases and said it would pump 9.7 million barrels a day beginning in July. But those increases have not done much to stem the skyrocketing price of oil, which closed near $135 a barrel on Friday.
The high prices are affecting consumers and economies across the United States, Europe and much of the world. Many countries have experienced social unrest as rising fuel prices have driven significant increases in the cost of food and other basic goods.
The cost of gasoline has also become a sore point in the U.S. presidential race, with U.S. President George W. Bush and Republican candidate John McCain calling for lifting of a long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling to increase domestic oil production. But Democratic candidate Barack Obama has said such steps will do nothing in the short term to ease American consumer's pain.
It was unclear if Oil Minister Ali al-Naimi's remarks Sunday at a high-level oil summit in the port city of Jiddah would quell concerns.
Al-Naimi, who was expected to formally make the announcements in a speech later Sunday, reiterated his government's position that the recent run-up in prices has not been caused by a supply shortage. But he said he also believes each country must do what it can "to alleviate these difficult conditions.''
For the remainder of the year "Saudi Arabia is willing to produce additional barrels of crude oil above and beyond the 9.7 million barrels per day which we plan to produce during the month of July, if demand for such quantities materializes and our customers tell us they are needed," al-Naimi said in the speech, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press in advance.
Al-Naimi also said that the kingdom was willing to invest to boost its spare oil production capacity above the current 12.5 million barrels per day planned for the end of 2009, reversing previous statements that the country would not go beyond that figure.
"In addition, we have identified a series of future crude oil mega-increments totaling another 2.5 million barrels per day of capacity that could be built if and when crude oil demand levels warrant their development," he said.
The U.S. and other Western nations have put increasing pressure on Saudi Arabia to increase production, saying insufficient oil production has not kept pace with growing demand.
Earlier Sunday, King Abdullah also said Saudi Arabia was not to blame for soaring oil prices and instead pointed his finger at speculators, high fuel taxes in consuming countries and increased oil consumption in developing economies.
"There are several factors behind the unjustified, swift rise in oil prices and they are: Speculators who play the market out of selfish interests, increased consumption by several developing economies and additional taxes on oil in several consuming countries," the king said.
Abdullah urged the summit's delegates to "uncover the truth'' and dispel rumors to get the "real and full reasons" behind the skyrocketing price of oil.
Saudi Arabia increased oil production by 300,000 barrels a day in May, and a Saudi official confirmed Saturday that the country would add another 200,000 barrels a day in July – for a total of 9.7 million barrels a day.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown also called for future commitments from producers for increased oil and gas supply but urged that all countries should improve energy efficiency and develop alternative sources of energy, including nuclear power.
Earlier Sunday, U.S. Energy Secretary Samuel Bodman again called on Saudi Arabia to increase production, saying it has not kept pace with growing demand.
Bodman said world oil consumption growth has averaged about 1.8 percent per year since 2003 with the largest share of that growth coming from developing countries like China, India and countries in the Middle East, he said.
But for the past three years, global oil production has remained constant at roughly 85 million barrels a day, and OPEC production has remained largely flat, he said in a written statement.
"I believe that most of us agree on one thing: Prices are too high at present. And unless we act, the situation will remain unsustainable," he said in the statement.
The kingdom called for Sunday's unusual meeting in Jiddah between oil producing and consuming nations as a way to show that it was not deaf to international cries that high oil prices have caused social and economic turmoil.
The Gulf nation also has become increasingly concerned that record oil prices could hinder growth in the U.S. and other major industrialized economies, potentially leading to a decline in oil demand and a sharp drop-off in prices.
Also Sunday, Abdullah called for the creation of a $1 billion energy initiative for poor countries to help them combat the rising cost of fuel. He also said Saudi Arabia would contribute $500 million to help give poor countries loans to finance development and energy projects.

Talisman According To Analysts