Talisman buoyant over boomer in B.C.

Gary Park

With a “boomer” already in production, Talisman Energy is pulling out the stops in the Monkman natural gas play in northeastern British Columbia.

The Canadian independent reported Jan. 11 that its Brazion deep well, first reported in November, is pumping 66 million cubic feet per day of sales gas and 80 million cubic feet of raw gas, double initial expectations.

The well has estimated raw gas reserves of more than 200 billion cubic feet and is part of a play that Talisman believes will match its Triassic play, where 2 trillion cubic feet have already been produced.

The company said it plans to drill four more deep wells this year. In addition it has posted two new Triassic discoveries at Monkman, with one well testing at 19 million cubic feet per day.

Talisman chief executive officer Jim Buckee, who described the Brazion find as a “boomer,” said early production data shows the well is one of the best exploration successes in the history of the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin.

He said recent finds in the Canadian Foothills and Appalachian area of New York state have “demonstrated the success of our deep gas strategy, targeting larger, highly-productive natural gas pools.”

He said Talisman has targeted gas production growth of 4-7 percent a year over the next three years. The company announced a record C$3.1 billion exploration and development budget for its global interests in 2005, up 15 percent from last year.

That includes C$1.4 billion for North America, of which 90 percent will be directed at gas projects, including 500 wells.