Carl Icahn has bought up 61 million shares of Calgary-based Talisman Energy, which equates to about 6% – or $300 million worth – of the company’s stock. “This is an unfocused company that probably needs to shed more assets or be taken over completely.” Icahn previously set his sights on companies such as Chesapeake and Transocean and sought to usher in broad changes, with varying degrees of success. [Forbes]

President Obama’s top energy and climate advisor Heather Zichal, who was instrumental in orchestrating his Climate Action Plan, is stepping down. “In an effort to keep Zichal on board, according to people who are familiar with the decision but asked not to be identified because of the sensitive nature of personnel matters, White House officials raised the possibility of her chairing the Council on Environmental Quality in the event that its current chair, Nancy Sutley, would leave.” [Washington Post]

Gazprom-led Sakhalin Energy, the consortium that operates the Sakhalin II LNG project in Russia, wants to up the price at which it sells gas to South Korea’s Kogas when the two entities’ contract is up for renegotiation next year. A source told Bloomberg that Kogas, which is the world’s largest LNG buyer, won’t accept the price hike.  [Bloomberg]