Total Share Discussion Threads

[ariane] 31/10/2013 11:30

Total SA (FP), Europe's second-largest oil producer, reported a 19 percent declined in third-quarter profit as refining margins in Europe dropped.

Profit, excluding changes in inventories, fell to 2.72 billion euros ($3.7 billion) from 3.36 billion euros a year earlier, the Courbevoie, France-based company said. That was in line with the 2.73 billion-euro average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Dividends were unchanged.

Production advanced 1 percent to 2.3 million barrels of oil equivalent a day after Total resumed output at the North Sea Elgin platform and the Ibewa field in Nigeria. New fields were started in Kazakhstan and Norway.

"The refining environment remains very difficult right now," Chief Financial Officer Patrick de la Chevardiere said on a conference call. "Margins are extremely weak, we still have an endemic problem of overcapacity" in Europe.

Total fell as much as 2.5 percent and traded down 57.5 cents to 44.655 euros at 9:12 a.m. in Paris.

Total has pledged to boost production to reach 2.6 million barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2015 and about 3 million barrels a day two years later. The French company has also promised to explore more aggressively for new deposits and start up almost twice the number of projects in the next three years than the previous three.

"The group is improving the outlook for sustainable post-2017 production growth under terms consistent with its strict return criteria, while confirming its commitment to reduce near-term investment," Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said in the statement.

Raise Payout
Total will pay an interim dividend of 59 euro cents a share, according to today's statement. The explorer failed to raise the payout this quarter as some asset sales haven't yet been completed, de la Chevardiere said. Total "has room" to do so in the future.

Benchmark Brent crude oil prices averaged $109.65 a barrel in the third quarter, just 23 cents more than the same period last year. Total's refining margin, a generic measure of profitability, shrank to the lowest level in almost five years to $10.60 a metric ton, compared with $51 a ton a year earlier, according to an Oct. 15 posting on its website.

Kashagan in Kazakhstan, the world's biggest crude discovery in the last 40 years, produced its first oil in September before being shut due to problems with leaks. Total has a 16.81 percent stake.

Platform Shut
The Elgin platform was shut for almost a year following a natural-gas leak in March 2012. Output resumed March 9 at about half capacity, and will return to prior levels by 2015 with the addition of new wells.

De Margerie had promised output growth of 2 percent to 3 percent this year, a target de la Chevardiere declined to reiterate today.

"We are expecting an increase in 2013," he said, adding the magnitude will depend on Kashagan and Angola liquefied natural gas output.

The drop in third-quarter results was due in part to a 42 percent fall in adjusted net operating income from refining and chemicals as well as an increase in spending on exploration.

Total spent $400 million more in the most recent quarter on exploration compared with the same period last year due to a more "aggressive" push to uncover new deposits, de la Chevardiere said. "We haven't yet found the giant field we are looking for."

As Total develops so-called mega-projects, de Margerie is also carrying out a series of asset sales to help pay for them. About $15 billion of asset will have been sold by the end of the year as part of a target for $15 billion to $20 billion between 2012 to 2014, de la Chevardiere said today.

He also confirmed a pledge that spending will peak this year. Total expects capital expenditure to fall to $24 billion to $25 billion in 2015 to 2017 compared with $28 billion to $29 billion this year.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tara Patel in Paris at [e-mail]

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Will Kennedy at [e-mail]

[ariane] 31/10/2013 09:07

PARIS--Oil and gas major Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) Thursday said its hydrocarbon output in the fourth quarter should be higher than a year earlier, after it reported a 19% drop in adjusted net profit for the third quarter resulting from higher exploration costs, seasonal maintenance spending and the steep deterioration of refining activities.
"Our output in the fourth quarter should be higher," the company's chief financial officer Patrick de la Chevardiere said during a conference call. He noted he was mildly confident about Total's performance in the last part of this year and the start of the next, as crude oil prices were holding around $100-$110 per barrel, offsetting the negative impact of refining activities.
In the third quarter, Total posted the second consecutive quarterly production increase due to a string of ramp-ups and the restart of several wells, notably in the North Sea.
The company has engaged in a major race with peers to find additional oil and gas reserves to meet globally growing demand. It has boosted its investment for exploration and production since 2010 to an average of $18 billion annually.
Total is currently undertaking a disposal plan of $15 billion to $20 billion worth of assets, ending in 2014, to help support its cash flow and foster its investment plans, which are to decrease after this year. So far, it has sold a bit more than $10 billion of assets, with two more planned disposals in a near future, in Nigeria and Congo, which should bring the total amount of divestitures to $15 billion.
The scheme is expected to help the French major boost its hydrocarbon output potential to 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day in 2017 from currently around 2.3 million.
The firm's oil and gas output over the quarter increased 2% to around 2.30 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, or mboe/d, thanks to the restart of the Elgin-Franklin platform in the North Sea and the ramp-up of several projects, allowing the group to offset the dent made by the bunkering, or the illegal tapping into pipelines, in Nigeria, as well as the labor actions in Libya which stopped oil exports for some time.
In the third quarter, Total's adjusted net earnings amounted to 2.72 billion euros ($3.6 billion), down from EUR3.36 billion a year earlier. The results were below expectations as analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expected an adjusted net profit of EUR2.77 billion. The figure, which is closely watched by investors, is adjusted to exclude an after-tax inventory effect, the impact of changes in fair value and special items such as transactions which are infrequent and unusual. Net profit for the quarter dropped 10% to EUR2.76 billion from EUR3.08 billion.
The oil major also announced a stable interim dividend for the quarter of EUR0.59 per share, as "some of the planned disposals haven't materialized yet," Mr. de la Chevardiere said, noting though that "we have some (financial) room to increase the dividend in the future."
Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]

[waldron] 28/10/2013 15:15

Target price Rating

AVERAGE 47.60 positive 3
Prev. Quarter 45.13 neutral 2
+/- in % +5.5 negative 0

MEDIAN 47.70
Maximum 50.00
Minimum 45.00
Amount 4

Deutsche Bank 45.00 Buy
Morgan Stanley -- Equalweight
Natixis 47.60 Buy
Santander 47.80 Hold
VTB Capital 50.00 Buy

[waldron] 18/10/2013 10:03

(CercleFinance.com) - UBS a annoncé vendredi avoir dégradé sa recommandation sur le titre Total de 'achat' à 'neutre' pour des questions de valorisation. Son objectif de cours est relevé en parallèle de 44 à 46 euros.

S'il admet que la récente présentation stratégique du groupe pétrolier a permis de mettre en lumière un potentiel de hausse certain, l'analyste juge ses objectifs opérationnels et financiers tendus, mais réalisables.

L'intermédiaire rappelle néanmoins que le cours de l'action s'est apprécié de 15% au cours des trois derniers mois, ce qui représente la meilleure performance des majors européennes sur la période.

UBS note que le titre a, au passage, débordé son précédent objectif de cours de 44 euros.

'Nous attribuons cette vigueur non seulement à l'attention portée par le groupe à son flux de trésorerie, une tendance illustrée par sa nouvelle stratégie, mais aussi par la solidité de ses récentes résultats et par une perception généralement plus favorable des investisseurs vis-à-vis de ce qui se passe en Europe', résume le professionnel.

'Cela a porté le titre à des niveaux proches de ce que nous considérons être une valorisation appropriée', conclut UBS, qui justifie ainsi sa décision de dégrader la valeur.

[waldron] 07/10/2013 11:32

MOUVEMENTS ET NIVEAUX


Le titre est orienté à la hausse. Il est au-dessus de sa moyenne mobile 50 jours. La moyenne mobile à 20 jours est supérieure à la moyenne mobile à 50 jours. Le support est à 40.55 EUR, puis à 39.93 EUR et la résistance est à 44.33 EUR, puis à 45.59 EUR.

Dernier cours : 42.89
Support : 40.55 / 39.93
Resistance : 44.33 / 45.59
Opinion court terme : negative
Opinion moyen terme : positive

[waldron] 04/10/2013 14:06

October 31 Third Quarter 2013 Results

[waldron] 26/6/2013 07:41

France's Total Weighs Bids for U.K. Shale Gas
PrintAlert
Centrica (LSE:CNA)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 26 June 2013
French energy major Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) is considering bidding for rights to explore for shale gas in Britain and is "frustrated" by a lack of information on a licensing round to be held next year, the Daily Telegraph reported Wednesday.
The company is also understood to have held talks with several companies about buying a stake in their existing exploration blocks in the U.K., according to the Telegraph.
The enthusiasm of one of the world's biggest energy companies to join the search for U.K. shale is the latest sign of the nascent industry's growing momentum following the 160-million-pound ($247 million) deal for British Gas owner Centrica PLC (CPYYY, CNA.LN) to buy a 25% stake in Cuadrilla's Bowland shale license area, the newspaper wrote.
Ministers are preparing to unveil details of incentives for communities affected by "fracking" in a further attempt to encourage swift exploration of Britain's shale resources, which they believe have the potential to provide an important new source of gas to the U.K., the Telegraph reported.
Total is understood to have held talks with Cuadrilla over buying into its licenses but is now focusing on other opportunities.
Write to Dennis Baker at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ: hxxp://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires

[sarkasm] 26/4/2013 16:27

Total Plans North Sea Push
PrintAlert
Total (EU:FP)
Graphique Intraday de l'Action
Aujourd'hui : Friday 26 April 2013
PARIS--French oil company Total SA said it is working to overcome a 2% decline in its oil and gas production in the first quarter, in part by expanding investment in the North Sea, part of a broader resurgence of development in the area.
Total's performance underscores the growth challenges faced by all major oil companies. U.S.-based energy giant Exxon Mobil Corp. said Thursday its production fell 3.5% in the first three months of 2013, while Conoco Phillips reported a 1.6% drop.
Total said that it is on track to grow its oil and gas output by 3% a year on average between 2011 and 2015, with an acceleration of that pace after 2017.
Around 90% of the oil and gas projects Total needs to hit its 2017 production target have already started up or are in development, said the head of Total's Exploration and Production division, Yves-Louis Darricarrere, in an interview earlier this week.
The company plans to invest up to $20 billion over the next five years in the U.K. North Sea, and said it is on track to become the top oil and gas producer there by 2015.
A large part of Total's fall in output in the first quarter was due to the shutdown of its Elgin-Franklin gas field in the North Sea, underscoring the challenges it faces in achieving its target.
Elgin-Franklin did restart production last month and by early April was producing between 55% and 60% of its full capacity of 120,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, Total said. A huge project of development will be set up around the field, with additional wells drilled, potentially reaching a new untapped reservoir.
Total is also developing the Laggan-Tormore gas off the west coast of the Shetland Islands, expected to come on stream in summer next year, and is looking to tap into surrounding reservoirs named for famous whiskeys such as Laphroaig and Glenlivet. Total isn't alone in hatching new development plans for the area. To the east, on the other side of the North Sea, Norway's Statoil ASA and Sweden's Lundin Petroleum have both been active in investing in the search for new reservoirs, with much success.
Total's ambitions for the North Sea contrast with its plans for Canada, where it took a EUR1.25 billion ($1.6 billion) loss after pulling out of a large oil sands project called Voyageur.
Total and its partner, Suncor Energy Inc., said the project was no longer commercially justifiable due to the abundance of light crude in North America because of the boom in shale oil production.
Group Chairman and Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said Friday the sale of its interest in Voyageur demonstrated Total's "commitment to strict investment discipline."
The loss on Voyageur and the fall in production led to a 58% decline in the company's net profit for the first quarter to EUR1.54 billion from EUR3.67 billion a year earlier. Revenue fell 6% in the period to EUR48.13 billion.
Total says it has become more aggressive in terms of exploration, notably in more risky "frontier basins" such as the rough waters west of the Shetland Islands in the U.K. and in the Barents Sea, at the most northern tip of Norway.
"Accepting to take more risks and looking for larger projects are our new focuses," Mr. Darricarrere said, adding the group's potential resources has doubled in the last three years to six billion barrels of oil equivalent.
On Thursday, the company said it has made a significant oil discovery in deep waters off the Ivory Coast, nearby some significant oil discoveries offshore Ghana.
Total has the best exploration assets of any of the major oil companies, said analysts from Bernstein Research in a note. "We remain confident Total can hit guidance of 3% production growth this year," it said.
Total has 15 projects under development, four of which are located in the North Sea and the Barents Sea. In the second quarter of this year, it said it expects the start up of a liquefied natural gas project in Ghana, the Sulige gas field in China and the enormous Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan.
Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[grupo guitarlumber] 25/4/2013 15:16

UPDATE: Total Find Raises Hopes For Ivory Coast Oil
PrintAlert
Total S.A (NYSE:TOT)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 25 April 2013
(Adds analysts comments, context and details)
By Alexis Flynn
French energy giant Total SA (TOT) said Thursday it has made a significant oil discovery in deep waters off Ivory Coast, the clearest sign yet the West African nation could join neighbour Ghana as a heavyweight regional crude producer.
Deepwater exploration drilling by the French company yielded at least 28 meters of high-quality oil, Total said in a statement. The find is close to the maritime border with Ghana, an area where U.K. firm Tullow Oil and U.S. wildcatters Anadarko Petroleum Corp (APC) and Kosmos Energy Ltd. (KOS) plan to produce around 76,000 barrels of oil a day.
Still reeling from a decade of political unrest that eventually led to civil war in 2011, Ivory Coast has set its hopes on a wave of oil exploration by foreign companies as a way of rejuvenating its moribund economy and diversifying it away from an over-reliance on cocoa exports.
Although some oil was discovered in Ivory Coast in the late 1970s, the country has always lagged Nigeria and Gabon as a serious producer nation. Early investors like Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) were discouraged by the high cost of production at a time of low oil prices.
However, the 2007 discovery of Ghana's massive Jubilee field by Tullow ushered in a wave of fresh exploration across the Gulf of Guinea.
Total said its discovery showed parallels with Tullow-operated Jubilee, as well as other fields in nearby Ghana.
"The well confirms the extension into Block CI-100 of the already proved active petroleum system in the prolific Tano basin, home to several fields, including Jubilee in Ghana," said Total.
Further appraisals of the area's oil potential will begin soon, once data gleaned from the well is analyzed, Total said.
Analysts cautioned that further drilling work would still need to be done before the true commercial potential of the discovery could be established, but suggested that initial signs were positive.
"You have to look at the geological read-across. There is the potential for quite valuable, high-margin oil in that region," said Santander analyst Jason Kenney.
Geraldine Amiel in Paris contributed to this article
-Write to Alexis Flynn at
[e-mail]

[waldron] 25/4/2013 09:10

Total Confirms Output Targets, Sees Further Growth After 2017
PrintAlert
Total (EU:FP)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 25 April 2013
By Geraldine Amiel
SHETLAND, Scotland--French company Total SA (TOT, FP.FR) still expects its oil and gas output to grow 3% on average on an annual basis between 2011 and 2015, and then sees accelerated growth after 2017 as new projects come on stream, the head of the exploration and production division Yves-Louis Darricarrere said, ahead of the group's release of its first-quarter earnings later this week.
By 2017, the group expects to have increased its production capacity potential to 3 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, from currently around 2.3 mboe/d, Mr. Darricarrere said during a press presentation there Monday.
The group is strongly competing with peers to find more oil and gas as energy demand keeps growing in emerging markets and while most conventional hydrocarbon reservoirs around the world are believed now to be depleting. Total has engaged in a strategic change and has become more aggressive in terms of exploration, allowing it to recently make substantial discoveries, notably in risky areas also called "frontier basins," such as the rough seas of West Shetlands and the Barents Sea, at the most northern tip of Europe.
Total even sees its output growth accelerating after 2017, as "already 90% of the 2017 potential is either in production or in development," Mr. Darricarrere said.
"We're seeing the results of our revitalized exploration strategy. Accepting to take more risks and looking for larger projects are our new focuses," Mr. Darricarrere said, adding the group's potential resources has doubled in the last three years to six billion barrels of oil equivalent.
In the North Sea alone, the group plans to invest as much as $20 billion over the five coming years, he said.
The strategy has allowed Total's production decline rate to remain steady, at around 3%, he said.
"We're able to control the decline, but this is because attention has been brought to existing fields and all our projects must be on time... Any delay of a project is a destruction of growth," he added.
Total has currently 15 projects under development, four of which are located in the North Sea and the Barents Sea. Mr. Darricarrere said "these projects, for the time being, are on time" and should add around 175,000 boe/d to Total's production.
The group will release its first-quarter earnings on Friday at 0600 GMT. Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires expect Total's first-quarter output to have dropped 2.1% from a year earlier to 2.323 mboe/d from 2.372 mboe/d.
Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]; Follow on Twitter @GeraldineAmiel;
Subscribe to WSJ:

[waldron] 28/3/2013 09:19

Total Sells Stake in Canada Refining Project to Suncor
PrintAlert
Total S.A (NYSE:TOT)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 28 March 2013
By Ruth Bender
PARIS--French oil giant Total SA (TOT) Thursday said it has agreed to sell its stake in the Voyageur partnership for $500 million to Suncor Energy Inc. (SU) after the two groups agreed not to proceed with a plan to build a multibillion-dollar upgrader facility in northern Alberta designed to refine heavy bitumen into a light, low-sulfur synthetic crude.
Total said that together with Suncor it decided investment in the project was no longer justified as the recent emergence of an abundance of light crude and condensates produced in North America will tremendously increase the supply of diluents, or diluting agents, for mining projects and thus impact upgrader projects such as the one planned for Alberta.
Total will book a net loss of $1.65 billion in the first quarter of 2013 due to the disposal but will save more than $5 billion of investment over the next five years with this decision, the company said in a statement.
The transfer of interest for cash is effective immediately.
Total said it wants to continue to play a significant role in Canada's future oil sands development and that the Fort Hills and Joslyn mining projects aren't impacted by the decision to withdraw from the Voyageur upgrader project.
-Write to Ruth Bender at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[waldron] 26/3/2013 19:40

Iran Sanctions Hinder BP's U.K. Gas Field
PrintAlert
BP Plc (LSE:BP.)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Tuesday 26 March 2013
LONDON--BP PLC (BP.LN) may decide to shut down the Bruce natural gas field in the U.K. North Sea earlier than planned unless a way is found to restart production at the adjoining Rhum field, which is shut down because of sanctions against Iran.
Without the inclusion of gas from Rhum, which could more than double the combined output of the fields, BP said it does not make commercial sense to keep running the older Bruce field, a BP spokesman said Tuesday. BP shut down production at Rhum in November 2010 due to Western sanctions that prohibit financial transactions with one of the field's joint owners, which is a unit of the National Iranian Oil Company.
Early decommissioning of any North Sea field would be a blow to the U.K. government, which has recently implemented a raft of tax breaks in an effort to bolster the country's energy security by keeping aging offshore oil and gas facilities operating. BP's warning comes just days after U.K. gas prices surged due to unseasonably cold weather, and unexpected production and pipeline outages.
A spokesman for the U.K. Department of Energy and Climate Change declined to comment on whether the government was doing anything to resolve the sanctions issue.
Referring to the possibility that BP and its partners may decide to bring forward decommissioning of Bruce, the spokesman said: "That's a commercial matter for BP and those involved."
The U.K.'s Foreign and Commonwealth Office declined to comment.
"The long-term future of the Bruce facilities is very closely tied to the ability to produce from Rhum. Given the uncertainties, we are considering what a decommissioning project would entail and how long it would take to execute," a BP spokesman said, without giving any further details.
Bruce, which started producing in 1993, is currently scheduled for decommissioning in the early 2020s, BP said. It produces 20,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day, two-thirds of which is gas.
Production started in 2005 at Rhum, which is connected to the Bruce platform via a sub-sea pipeline. Rhum was producing around 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day of natural gas when it was shuttered, BP said.
Finding a solution to the sanctions problem would not be without precedent. Last year, U.K. and European Union officials convinced some U.S. lawmakers to ensure that any new sanctions against Iran should exempt the $20 billion BP-led natural gas project, Shah Deniz, in the Caspian Sea off the coast of Azerbaijan. Another unit of the National Iranian Oil Company has a 10% stake in the project.
Europe sees Shah Deniz as vital to diversifying gas supplies so the region is not too dependent on Russian imports.
France's Total SA (TOT), Australia's BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) and Japanese trading house Marubeni are also shareholders in Bruce. Bruce is located about 340 kilometers northeast of Aberdeen.
Write to Selina Williams at [e-mail]; Twitter: @selinawilliams3
Subscribe to WSJ:

[ariane] 07/2/2013 17:04

Target price Rating DPS 2012

AVERAGE 45.05 positive 6 AVERAGE 2.34
Prev. Quarter 44.99 neutral 2 Prev. Year 2.28
+/- in % +0.1 negative 1 +/- in % +2.5

MEDIAN 44.00 MEDIAN 2.34
Maximum 49.00 Maximum 2.34
Minimum 43.00 Minimum 2.32
Amount 8 Amount 6

Barclays 44.00 Underweight --
Cheuvreux 44.00 Outperform 2.34
Credit Suisse 43.00 Neutral 2.34
Deutsche Bank 44.00 Buy 2.32
J.P. Morgan 49.00 Overweight 2.34
Natixis 46.00 Buy --
Raymond James -- Market perform 2.34
Santander 46.40 Buy --
Societe Generale 44.00 Buy 2.34
=== Year-earlier figures are as reported by the company.
(a) Including anonymous estimates from one more institute.
DJG/err Subscribe to WSJ:

[waldron] 10/1/2013 13:15

Shah Deniz Gas Project Investors Would Get 50% of Nabucco if Pipeline Chosen
PrintAlert
BP (NYSE:BP)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 10 January 2013
By Alessandro Torello
BRUSSELS--The companies leading the development of a giant natural gas field in Azerbaijan have agreed to fund the development of Nabucco West, one of two pipeline projects competing to carry that gas to Europe, the pipeline consortium said Thursday.
Nabucco reached an agreement about the Shah Deniz field with SOCAR--Azerbaijan's state-owned energy company--BP PLC (BP), Statoil ASA (STL.OS) and Total SA (TOT) on "joint funding of the development costs of the Nabucco West up to the pipeline selection decision for Shah Deniz' European export route," it said in a statement. The parties also agreed that the Shah Deniz companies would get a 50% stake in Nabucco, if the project will be selected to carry the gas to Europe.
The deal will be executed "shortly," Nabucco said in the statement.
Write to Alessandro Torello at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[waldron] 24/12/2012 10:52

Total Buys 33.34% Stake in Tajikistan Oil Business
PrintAlert
Total S.A (NYSE:TOT)
Historical Stock Chart
1 Month : From Nov 2012 to Dec 2012
French oil major Total SA (TOT) said Friday that it has signed an agreement with Kulob Petroleum, a subsidiary of Tethys Petroleum Ltd (TPL.T) to buy a 33.335% interest in Bokhtar area oil business in Tajikistan.
MAIN FACTS:
-Under the agreement, signed jointly with a unit of state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. (CNPC.YY), Total and the unit of CNPC will each hold a 33.335% interest in the business, while Kulob will retain a 33.33% stake.
- The Bokhtar PSC covers an area of 35,000 square kilometers at the eastern end of the prolific Amu Darya Basin, said Total in a statement.
-On completion of the transaction, Total will acquire an interest in the Tajikistani sector of the Amu Darya Basin, said the company.
-Write to Nadya Masidlover at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[grupo guitarlumber] 05/12/2012 14:29

Total: Significant Oil Discovery In Gulf Of Mexico
Tweet PrintAlert
Total S.A (NYSE:TOT)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 5 December 2012
Total SA (TOT) Wednesday said it made a significant oil discovery at its North Platte prospect on Garden Banks Block 959 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
MAIN FACTS:
- The discovery well encountered several hundred feet of net oil pay in Lower Tertiary sands which included several high-quality intervals.
- Total estimates this discovery can have a potential of several hundred million barrels of oil. Further appraisal will be needed to confirm its size and commerciality.
- Total is in a strategic alliance with Cobalt International Energy to explore for oil in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The North Platte discovery is the first Lower Tertiary Wilcox formation well drilled by the Alliance.
- The results of the well confirm the northern extension of the Wilcox formation and the presence of liquid hydrocarbons. Therefore, this validates the major potential of this new exploration area of the Gulf of Mexico in which Total holds a substantial acreage position with several follow-on prospects.
- North Platte is located in a water depth of approximately 4,400 feet (1,340 m) and was drilled to a total depth of approximately 34,500 feet (10,520 m).
- Total holds a 40% interest in the North Platte discovery along with Cobalt (60%, operator).
-Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[grupo guitarlumber] 05/12/2012 14:29

Total: Significant Oil Discovery In Gulf Of Mexico
Tweet PrintAlert
Total S.A (NYSE:TOT)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Wednesday 5 December 2012
Total SA (TOT) Wednesday said it made a significant oil discovery at its North Platte prospect on Garden Banks Block 959 in the deepwater Gulf of Mexico.
MAIN FACTS:
- The discovery well encountered several hundred feet of net oil pay in Lower Tertiary sands which included several high-quality intervals.
- Total estimates this discovery can have a potential of several hundred million barrels of oil. Further appraisal will be needed to confirm its size and commerciality.
- Total is in a strategic alliance with Cobalt International Energy to explore for oil in the Deepwater Gulf of Mexico. The North Platte discovery is the first Lower Tertiary Wilcox formation well drilled by the Alliance.
- The results of the well confirm the northern extension of the Wilcox formation and the presence of liquid hydrocarbons. Therefore, this validates the major potential of this new exploration area of the Gulf of Mexico in which Total holds a substantial acreage position with several follow-on prospects.
- North Platte is located in a water depth of approximately 4,400 feet (1,340 m) and was drilled to a total depth of approximately 34,500 feet (10,520 m).
- Total holds a 40% interest in the North Platte discovery along with Cobalt (60%, operator).
-Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[ariane] 19/11/2012 08:02

EDF Part of Group in Bid for Total's TIGF Gas Storage Unit - Report
PrintAlert
EDF (EU:EDF)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Monday 19 November 2012
PARIS--French state-controlled power group Electricite de France SA (EDF.FR) is part of a consortium which has bid to acquire Total SA's (TOT) French gas storage unit TIGF, French business daily Les Echos reports Monday, citing unspecified sources.
TIGF is valued between 2 and 3 billion euros ($2.55 billion and $3.83 billion) and is part of Total's program of EUR15 to EUR20 billion of planned disposals by 2015, to give the oil and gas major increased financial flexibility for its investment plans, mostly in exploration and production.
An EDF spokeswoman declined to comment. A Total spokesman also declined to comment.
GDF Suez SA (GSZ.FR) has decided not to bid for TIGF, Les Echos also reported. No one at GDF Suez was immediately available to comment
Newspaper Web site:
Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]

[waldron] 08/11/2012 15:30

Total: Buys 75% Interest In 2 Exploration Blocks In Kazakhstan
PrintAlert
Total S.A (NYSE:TOT)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 8 November 2012
Total SA (TOT) Thursday said it acquired a 75% interest in two Kazakhstan's Concessions, the "North" and "South" blocks, previously operated by Kazakh Company Nurmunai Petrogas LLP.
MAIN FACTS:
- These two onshore blocks cover an area of approximately 14,500 square kilometers and are located in southwestern Kazakhstan.
- The transaction, which was recently approved by the Kazakh authorities, broadens Total's upstream portfolio in Kazakhstan beyond its existing Caspian Sea assets.
- As the new operator of the licenses, Total will acquire seismic data and subsequently drill a well in 2013.
- Since 1992, Total has been present in Kazakhstan with the company's 16.8% stake in the North Caspian permit, which includes the giant Kashagan field operated by the North Caspian Operating Company (NCOC).
- Write to Geraldine Amiel at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[ariane] 04/10/2012 15:43

Iraq, Kurds May Reach Draft Oil Law Pact Soon
Share this article PrintAlert
Exxon Mobil (NYSE:XOM)
Intraday Stock Chart
Today : Thursday 4 October 2012
BAGHDAD--The federal government in Baghdad and the semi-autonomous region of Kurdistan in northern Iraq could soon reach an agreement on a new draft hydrocarbon law that would help resolve an impasse over who should control oil resources, Iraq's oil minister said Thursday.
Disputes between the federal government in Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil have prevented agreement on a draft federal oil and gas law for more than five years.
The law is important for settling a dispute between Baghdad and the regional government in Kurdistan, as the Iraqi government doesn't recognize many deals signed by the Kurds with foreign companies. It wants to review these deals and bring them in line with oil laws valid in Baghdad.
"The parliament has tasked the federal oil minister and minister of natural resources in Kurdistan to reach a version of the law acceptable to all parties," federal oil minister Abdul Kareem Luaiby told reporters in Baghdad.
"A new amended version of the law is expected shortly. It depends on discussions," Mr. Luaiby said without giving a timespan for reaching an agreement.
Mr. Luaiby and Ashti Hawrami, the Kurdish minister of natural resources, met in Baghdad last week to attempt to reach a version of the law that would be acceptable to both sides.
The Iraqi government maintains all the contracts signed with the Kurdistan government are illegal, but it has been defied by oil companies, which are increasingly drawn to the region as oil contracts in southern Iraq have turned out to be less attractive than anticipated.
Last November, Exxon Mobil Corp. (XOM) provoked protests from Baghdad when it became the first big Western oil company to enter Kurdistan. Tensions rose even higher in recent weeks when U.S. oil giant Chevron Corp. (CVX), France's Total SA (TOT) and the oil producing arm of Russia's OAO Gazprom (GAZP.RS) all struck their own deals in Kurdistan.
Write to Hassan Hafidh at [e-mail]
Subscribe to WSJ:

[waldron] 28/9/2012 20:21

Shell rejects Total warning over Arctic oil searchOil giant Shell vows to resume exploratory drilling in the Arctic despite rival's fears a spill would ruin reputation of firms involved
Share 25
Email Terry Macalister The Guardian, Friday 28 September 2012 17.05 BST
Shell's Arctic oil quest – A Greenpeace activist dressed as a polar bear attempts to shut a petrol station over the company's plans to drill in the Arctic. Photograph: PA
Shell has rejected a plea from its French rival Total that the energy industry should abandon its search for oil in the Arctic on the grounds that a spill would ruin the reputation of any company involved.

The Anglo-Dutch company, which was forced to halt its recent drilling operation in the Chukchi Sea after vital safety equipment broke, said it would continue its longer-term work. "At Shell, we believe the Arctic has significant untapped potential and will play an increasingly important role in meeting the energy challenge. It holds great opportunity and that comes with great responsibility," said a spokesman at the London headquarters.

"Our experience working in rigorous and challenging conditions in the Arctic means that we are qualified to do the job right – to explore for offshore oil and gas in Alaska in a very safe and careful way," he added.

Industry experts expect Shell to restart drilling the Chukchi in July, while Christophe de Margerie, Total's chief executive, told the FT this week the risk of an oil spill in such an environmentally sensitive area such as Greenland would be a disaster. "A leak would do too much damage to the image of the company," he added, but insisted plans for gas developments in the Russian Arctic would remain.