Talisman Energy Cuts 15% Of North America Work Force

Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) said Wednesday it cut 220 jobs, or 15% of its North America work force, as it shifts its businesses toward unconventional shale gas production.

The majority of the cuts were in Talisman's headquarters in Calgary, and included the termination of 60 contractor jobs. The cuts amounted to an about 4% reduction to Talisman Energy's total work force of about 5,300 people, spokesman Phoebe Buckland said.

Talisman, like its competitors in Canadian natural-gas production, has been forced to shift its focus to finding and exploiting unconventional gas resources. A boom in output from tight, shale-rock formations due to new drilling techniques has substantially increased U.S. gas supplies and sent futures prices down sharply, making older conventional gas fields uneconomical.

Talisman's earnings have suffered due to lower gas prices--it disappointed analysts by posting third-quarter results below expectations and sharply below year-earlier results. Third-quarter net income fell to C$30 million (US$28.7 million), or 3 Canadian cents per share, compared with C$1.425 billion, or C$1.38 a share a year earlier.

The company responded by splitting its North American business into two parts--a conventional and shale division, and investing in new land in shale gas basins, including a C$570 million investment in new land in the Marcellus shale gas region in Pennsylvania and the Montney shale gas area in Alberta.

Talisman shares closed down 5 cents, or 0.3%, to $18.01 in New York amid a broader pullback in energy company shares due to declining energy prices Wednesday.

-By Edward Welsch, Dow Jones Newswires; 613-237-0669; edward.welsch@dowjones.com

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