Talisman Energy Inc.'s unconventional point of view includes a facination with shale gas plays like the Bakken and Appalachia -- and the people that can help them tap those emerging resources.

On Wednesday, the Calgary company announced it would bolster its human resource by adding Jim Fraser as senior vice-president for eastern North America.

Fraser has 30 years experience in exploration and production but his key skills, and the ones highlighted in the press release, relate to unconventional resource play development and operations acquired via tenures in the Rockies, the San Juan Basin and, more recently, in the mid-Continent and East Texas areas.

"His depth of experience in unconventional resource plays will be instrumental in assisting Talisman achieve its strategic goal of developing the natural gas potential within its 2.5 million net acres of unconventional land in North America," stated Ron Eckhardt, Talisman executive vice-president for North America.

Fraser was previously v-p of operations for the southern division of Chesapeake Energy Corp., responsible for all operations across Louisiana, Texas and New Mexico.

dhealing@theherald.canwest.com