Colombian rebels on Monday kidnapped 23 oil workers of Canadian energy firm Talisman Energy Inc. (TLM), according to a government official and a local spokesman for the company.

Tomas Rueda, a Talisman spokesman, told RCN Radio station the workers were all Colombian nationals, and weren't direct employees of the company but were doing subcontracting work. The kidnapping took place near the town of Puerto Principe in the eastern state of Vichada.

La FM radio station, quoting an unnamed official from the Defense Ministry, said the kidnapping bore the hallmarks of Colombia's largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC.

"The workers for the company Talisman were kidnapped by armed men, apparently from the 16th front of the FARC," according to the ministry official, who said the workers were undertaking oil exploration activities for Talisman.

The official added that Colombia's military immediately dispatched troops to look for the kidnap victims and said the government is calling on residents in the area to provide any information they may have.

Calls to the Defense Ministry for further comment went unanswered Monday night.

Talisman, along with state-run oil firm Ecopetrol (EC) in January completed a planned purchase of the Colombian assets of BP PLC (BP) for $1.75 billion.

Colombia's oil sector has been booming in recent years due to a successful military offensive against the rebels by Former President Alvaro Uribe, which has spurred new investment in oil exploration and drilling. But the FARC is far from defeated and has continued this year to attack and kill police and soldiers, kidnap citizens and blow up oil pipelines.

-By Dan Molinski, Dow Jones Newswires; 57-310-867-6542; dan.molinski@dowjones.com
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