Offshore staff

CALGARY, Canada -- Talisman Energy Inc. subsidiary Talisman (Vietnam 15-2/01) Ltd. has drilled a successful sidetrack well into the Hai Su Trang (HST) discovery. The HST field was discovered earlier in the year. The sidetrack has provided valuable appraisal and field delineation data on the oil accumulation in the field, Talisman says.

"The continuing success in Vietnam keeps us moving forward towards our first development in block 15-2/01 and reinforces our belief in the significant commercial potential of the block," says Jim Buckee, Talisman president and CEO. "The well results are very encouraging because, not only do we see continuity in the oil-bearing sands encountered in the original discovery well, but we also encountered new sands structurally higher in the section.

"It is great to have three successes so early on in the exploration term and we are very excited about the three-well exploration program planned for the third quarter of this year. This program is expected to test three prospects which potentially are all larger than HST, including a very large basement structure."

The sidetrack appraisal well was drilled to a TD of 3,342 m (10,965 ft), penetrating the HST structure on block 15-2/01 1.1 km (0.7 mi) to the northeast of the original discovery. The sidetrack encountered 51 m (167 ft) of net oil pay at a structural elevation very similar to the discovery well. Extensive downhole well logging and sampling has confirmed the presence and quality of the same oil-bearing zones that were discovered and tested in the original HST discovery well.

With this new information, Talisman and co-venturer, PetroVietnam Exploration and Production Co. expect to move quickly to full field development, Talisman says.

The HST discovery is in block15-2/01, about 80 km (50 mi) off the east coast of Vietnam on trend with large oil and gas discoveries in the Cuu Long basin.

Thang Long Joint Operating Co., a special purpose company established for conducting all operations on block 15-2/01, plans to begin drilling three new exploration wells in 2007 to evaluate a basement structure as well as two more of the many Miocene/Oligocene clastic prospects that are on trend with the HST discovery.

Further exploration drilling is anticipated beyond 2007.

Talisman holds 60% interest in any commercial discoveries on block 15-2/01, with PVEP holding the remaining 40%.

5/8/2007