UPDATE: Total: Start-Upgrades, Cost Cuts To Boost 2010 Cash Flow

French oil giant Total SA (TOT) expects new projects and cost cuts to lift 2010 cash flow, and expects capital expenditure this year to remain within its $18 billion budget, according to slides on the company's Web site Wednesday.

The company's 2009 interim dividend will be EUR1.14 per share, the slides say.

Total is due to present the slides at its midyear review later Wednesday in London, at 1100 GMT.

The slide presentation shows "no big surprises and no significant new targets," but "certainly has a feel-good factor" said Alejandro Demichelis, analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, citing the company's cost-reduction program and dividend commitment.

The slides also flag the possibility of volatile crude oil prices in the near term, and note that refining margins remain under pressure. Spare refining capacity is currently at levels not seen since the 1980s, the slides say.

Total has reduced production at two of its French refineries in recent months, citing weak demand for refined products.

According to the slides, the company expects a limited impact on its annual accounts from its reduced production in the first half. Upstream technical costs were at their lowest level in the first half, the company said.

Total in July posted a 54% fall in second quarter net profit as oil prices and refining profits dropped.

Total expects its liquefied natural gas capacity to grow by an average of 7% per year through 2020, the slides say.

Company Web site: www.total.com

By Mimosa Spencer, Dow Jones Newswires; [phone]; [e-mail]