no mention of nge

By David Winning
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

SYDNEY (Dow Jones)--Canada's Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM) has put stakes in licenses in Papua New Guinea that contain nearly four trillion cubic feet of natural gas up for sale, providing a litmus test of investor interest in an impoverished nation recently racked by political upheaval.
Talisman said it has appointed Sydney-based advisory RFC Corporate Finance to find an investor for four licenses in the forelands of western Papua New Guinea, which contain a
mix of gas discoveries and exploration targets.
"Our intent was always to seek a strategic partner in what is a very large license interest position, once sufficient resources have been aggregated," Dave Mann, a
spokesman for Calgary-based Talisman, told Dow Jones Newswires. "RFC represents a
formal process to execute on this."
Papua New Guinea has become an investment hotspot for international energy and resources companies seeking to unlock vast stores of natural gas, copper and gold that
can be shipped to rapidly industrializing Asian countries like China.
To develop these resources, companies like ExxonMobil Corp. (XOM) and Xstrata PLC (XTA.LN) need to overcome big infrastructure bottlenecks as much of PNG's mineral
wealth is located in hilly terrain far from the coast. Exxon and partners are spending
US$15.7 billion to drill wells, build pipelines and a facility that can produce liquefied natural gas for export to China, Taiwan and Japan.
According to a BP PLC (BP) study, Papua New Guinea had 15.6 trillion cubic feet of proven natural gas reserves at the end of 2010. That figure likely underestimates the
true resource as Papua New Guinea has been lightly explored up to now.
However, investors in Papua New Guinea now face rising sovereign risk as two of the country's most senior politicians--Peter O'Neill and Michael Somare--spar over
the post of prime minister. Media reports said police were called to take control of government offices earlier this month after former prime minister Somare challenged
incumbent O'Neill's right to lead the country.
Talisman said it is seeking to sell part of its stakes in the PPL 235 and PPL 261 licenses, both of which are wholly owned, and the PRL 4 and PRL 21 licenses where it has large interests of 50% and 40%, respectively.
It acquired the PPL 235 license in 2009 through the US$177 million takeover of Rift Oil PLC, and the block contains the Puk Puk discovery and two other finds with an estimated 2.4 trillion cubic feet of gas in place. Gas in place measures the total resource and isn't the same as the recoverable volume of gas, which could turn out to be a much smaller figure.
"Talisman is committed to PNG and we are very active--we currently have two rigs in country, and have an active drilling program which will continue next year," Mann
said.
Talisman, which has a market value of over US$13 billion, owns 14 licenses in Papua New Guinea.