Total Avoids Investor Ire Over Russia Business, So Far -- Market Talk

Total S.A. shares are down 3% after second quarter earnings slump and it says has stopped buying shares in Russian gas producer OAO Novatek since the crash of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17. While rival oil major BP has been punished by investors for its business in Russia, Total has largely avoided the ire so far; its shares are still up nearly 14% this year, while BP's are flat. But Total's Russian exposure is large: the country will be its most important region for oil and gas output by 2020 and it's a partner in a $27 billion liquefied natural gas project in the Arctic. "Russia is a great oil and gas country and we'll have to wait and see the nature of these new sanctions first," Total chief financial officer Patrick de la Chevardere said in a conference call. ([e-mail])

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