A reorganization at Talisman Energy has resulted in layoffs for 90 Calgary employees, the company announced Wednesday.

The international oil and gas producer has been hinting at job reductions for months and said in a news release the move was largely made because of low North American natural gas prices, “which have resulted in Talisman significantly reducing spending on dry gas plays.”

It noted that it still has 1,500 staff in Canada, 1,200 of them in Calgary, following the layoffs.

“These are difficult decisions, and we appreciate the contributions our colleagues have made,” said John Rossall, Talisman’s senior vice-president for Canada,

“Talisman’s focus now is investing in the liquids-rich part of our portfolio and maintaining a competitive cost structure relative to our Canadian peers.”

Talisman stock closed down 10 cents at $12.60 on the Toronto Stock Exchange.

Analyst Michael Dunn of FirstEnergy Capital said the layoffs were not a surprise, nor do they necessarily point to similar actions by other Calgary producers.

“It will depend on capital spending plans for each one,” he said in an e-mail. “Specific to TLM, they’ve been saying since this past fall that they would be looking to trim overhead expenses.”

Talisman has been pursuing a downsized corporate agenda under Hal Kvisle, appointed chief executive in September to replace John Manzoni, and had set a target of reducing the monthly general and administrative cost “run rate” by 20 per cent by year-end.

Talisman spokeswoman Phoebe Buckland said the layoffs include professionals such as engineers and geologists in Talisman’s Canadian division, as well as administrative staff that supported that work.

In October, Kvisle announced Talisman would cut its capital budget this year by $1 billion to $3 billion, exit unprofitable regions and use proceeds from a $1.5-billion North Sea joint venture deal with China’s Sinopec to pay down debt rather than buy back shares as previously planned.

Talisman plans to concentrate on boosting cash flow from lower-risk operations in the Americas, Southeast Asia and the North Sea, and will cut costs for items including employees and offices, he said.

In January, the company parted ways with Tony Meggs, executive vice-president of special projects since May 2011.

In the fourth quarter of 2012, Talisman’s Canadian production was approximately 81,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

dhealing@calgaryherald.com

With files from the Canadian Press