Talisman to Sell Stakes in Two Australian Offshore Fields

Talisman Energy Inc said on Wednesday it plans to sell its stakes in two oilfields in the Timor Sea off the coast of Australia as Canada's No.5 independent oil producer continues to restructure its global petroleum properties.

The company is looking to sell its 40 percent stake in the Corallina and its one-third stake in the Laminaria fields, whose production averaged under 6,000 barrels per day last year, a small fraction of the 373,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day that Talisman averaged over 2013. The two oilfields are operated by Woodside Petroleum Ltd.

Talisman has been slimming its operations and cutting debt in order to satisfy disgruntled investors and boost shares that have fallen 7.9 percent over the past 12 months. The Toronto Stock Exchange's energy index has climbed 39 percent over the same span.

Brent Anderson, a spokesman for the company, said Talisman did not have a deadline for the sale, which is being handled by Miro Advisors Pty in Perth.

"The sale is part of our ongoing efforts to further simplify our portfolio and focus our capital on a smaller number of core assets," Anderson said.

When complete, Talisman will have no assets in the Timor Sea region, after agreeing earlier this week to sell its 25 percent stake in the Kitan field to Indonesia's Hibiscus Petroleum Bhd for $18 million.

Talisman shares rose 3 Canadian cents to C$11.23 in Toronto on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Scott Haggett; Editing by Diane Craft)