Talisman makes oil find off Norway

A news release said the find, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) off the western Norway port of Stavanger, has an estimated 630,000 to 1.5 million barrels of recoverable oil, which will be produced by linking it to the Varg platform, about 550 yards (500 meters) away.

"The licensees have already decided to produce the discovery via the Varg field from 5 July 2008, following fast-track approval by the authorities," the statement said.

Talisman Energy Norge ASA, a subsidiary of the Calgary, Canada company, owns 65 percent of the find and operates the offshore license for the block where the oil was found on behalf of its project partners--Norwegian companies Petoro AS, with 30 percent, and Den norske oljeselkap ASA, with five percent.