Talisman Energy Inc. recently announced a $1.2-billion take-over bid for Rigel Energy Corporation.

Both Talisman and Rigel have oil operations within southeast Saskatchewan.

Rigel's board has approved the bid which was announced on Aug. 23. The take over is subject to shareholder approval and is expected to be finalized within the third to the final week of September, said Rigel vice president and general manager Tom Ruissen.

Rigel's annual revenue is approximately $360 million a year, based on 37-38,000 barrels of oil equivalent production per day at $26 Canadian per barrel.

"Our production is approximately 2,000 barrels per day (in southeast Saskatchewan) and we have close to 200 wells and a small interest in a couple of big units like the Weyburn Unit which is PanCanadian operated and the Midale Unit which is Shell operated," said Ruissen.

Rigel's revenue generation in southeast Saskatchewan is approximately $19 million per year at an average price of $26 per barrel.

In southeast Saskatchewan, Rigel operates in the RM of Benson as well as in Manor, Rocanville and Edenwold.

Rigel employs two full-time salaried employees and four contract operators throughout the province.

"At this point we don't really know how it will affect our staff but they (Talisman) feel they'll need quite a few," said Ruissen.

Rigel's stock was trading at $13.90 a share on Monday while Talisman's offer is set at $14.78.

Talisman's home page states they are the largest independent Canadian oil and gas producer.

The newly-combined entity will be worth close to $8 billion, becoming a dominant player in the Peace River Arch and adding to its natural gas position in the Rocky Mountain Foothills, with operations in the North Sea.

Talisman's Saskatchewan operations superintendent, Helmut Gutsche, said Talisman has slightly over 500 wells in southeast Saskatchewan and 700 wells throughout the province.

Talisman's oil production in southeast Saskatchewan is 8,200 barrels per day which equates to an annual revenue of $78 million per year within the region.

In the southeast Saskatchewan 29 per cent of Talisman's wells are horizontal and the rest are vertical, said Gutsche.

Talisman employs 43 people in Saskatchewan with 11 based in the Shaunavon area while 33 in work in Carlyle and district.

Talisman's operations base in southeast Saskatchewan ranges from Wapella in the north to Oxbow in the south, and from Redvers in the east to Stoughton and Creelman in the west.

Gutsche said he was not certain how the takeover might affect staff.

"It's tough to say until we see what all we've got. There may be no changes, there may be significant changes. Our responsibility is to the shareholders, so we're going to do what makes sense. The key thing is we have to evaluate everything and go from there."

The recent royalty announcement for the province was good news, said Gutsche, but he adds oil-industry competitiveness in Saskatchewan needs to be addressed further.

"Even though the price of oil has gone up, the activity rate has not. When you compare me to my peers in Alberta, my peers pay about half what I pay (in power costs) so that's the unfortunate part.

"After having said that, we've got some pretty good people here and that does even up the score because we do lift our oil efficiently and cost-effectively - the whole team is focused on that - and the fact that we are still in Saskatchewan would indicate that emphasis would have to be there. We just have to do it cheaper and do it more it more creatively than we did it before," Gutsche said.

Last week Talisman explained they will offer 0.3 Talisman shares and $1 in cash for each Rigel share. The deal will result in 17.5 million shares being issued for approximately 58.3 million (fully diluted) Rigel shares and $58 million in cash. The offer equates to a 19-per-cent premium based on the 30-day weighted-average trading price of Rigel shares.