Talisman starts up oil production offshore Malaysia

Talisman Malaysia, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Talisman Energy, has commenced oil production from the Northern Fields development on schedule.
The development is located in the PM-3 commercial arrangement area (CAA) offshore Malaysia and Vietnam. Production is expected to reach 40,000-50,000 boepd (gross sales) by early 2010 with the commissioning of dry gas facilities mid-year.

Talisman expects to drill a total of 16 development wells in the Northern Fields in 2009, with an additional 13 expected in 2010.
"This marks the achievement of another strategic milestone," said John A. Manzoni, President and CEO. "Southeast Asia continues to be a key area of opportunity and growth for Talisman. We have doubled our production in Asia over the past five years and are positioned to grow at 10 % annually over the next few years."

Talisman announced first gas production from the Northern Fields in July 2008, with sales of 75 mm cfpd (gross), which has been ramping up since then. Sales gas from the development is piped to Malaysia and Vietnam via the Talisman operated Southern Fields development (also in PM-3 CAA). Talisman's net production in Malaysia/Vietnam averaged 31,000 boepd in 2008.
This project is the culmination of several years of commitment and cooperation between Talisman, Petronas, PetroVietnam, and numerous fabricators in Malaysia and Vietnam. The project is comprised of over 70 reservoirs, 50 wells, three wellhead riser platforms, a central processing platform, a floating storage and offloading tanker and over 100 km of subsea pipelines.

Talisman Malaysia operates Block PM-3 CAA and, together with its affiliate Talisman Malaysia (PM3), holds a 41.44 % interest.
Petronas Carigali holds a 46.06 % interest and PetroVietnam Exploration Production Corporation holds a 12.5 % interest.