Great. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you to you and all committee members for this kind invitation and the opportunity to speak with you today. We very much welcome the chance to share the Talisman Energy success story and answer your questions on the energy sector in general.
My name is Reg Manhas. I'm vice-president of corporate affairs for Talisman Energy. I'm based in Calgary, Canada. My colleague today, Jim Fraser, is the senior vice-president for North American shale.
Before we go any further, I just want to let you know I won't be going through the advisories on our presentation this morning, so that's for all your reading pleasure at a later point.
Before I turn it over to Jim to address the specifics of shale gas, I'd like to just say a couple of things about Talisman's global footprint and our commitment to corporate social responsibility. Talisman Energy is a Canadian company headquartered in Calgary, with exploration activities in North America, Latin America, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. We take great pride in being a Canadian company operating on the global stage.
Talisman is committed to the highest levels of corporate, ethical, and social responsibility. We have been recognized as a national and global leader in the area of corporate social responsibility. I personally was very proud to serve on the national advisory group during the Government of Canada round tables on corporate social responsibility a couple of years ago.
Talisman is a developer of oil and gas around the world, but I note that we are not involved in the oil sands projects. In fact, over the past few years, Talisman has made a strategic decision to focus its North American business on natural gas.
I'm now going to turn it over to Jim Fraser to speak specifically to our shale operations in Canada. Thank you.