Total Share Discussion Threads

[waldron] 22/1/2007 11:47

Total to invest 6 bln usd in Indonesia oil and gas sector over 5 yrs


PARIS (AFX) - French oil giant Total plans to invest another 6 bln usd in
Indonesia's oil and gas sector over the next five years, chairman Thierry
Desmarest said today.
"We plan to continue with many projects and we will increase by 6 bln usd
our investment in oil and gas exploration and production, especially in
Kalimantan, in the next five years," Desmarest told journalists after meeting
Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono at the palace.
He said Total had already doubled its investment to 1 bln usd in the past
three years.
The 6 bln usd, he said, would be used to increase capacity at Total's
Mahakam Delta oil and gas block in East Kalimantan and to search for new oil and
gas reserves. The Mahakam Delta block already employs some 20,000 people, he
added.
Desmarest, who was accompanied by Energy and Mineral Resources Minister
Purnomo Yusgiantoro, said Total remains committed for the long term in
Indonesia.
He said the company is negotiating with state oil and gas firm Pertamina to
raise its gas output to meet domestic and export demands, but gave no figures.


[e-mail]
afp/vb/cmr

[ariane] 18/1/2007 18:20

Oil prices plunge on inventory report


NEW YORK (AFX) - Oil prices plummeted to nearly $50 a barrel Thursday,
setting a new 20-month low, after the government reported larger-than-expected
jumps in crude oil and gasoline inventories.
A barrel of light, sweet crude for February delivery dropped $1.75 to $50.49
in midday trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices dropped as low as
$50.05, their lowest since May 25, 2005, shortly after the inventory report's
release by the federal Energy Information Administration.
Crude prices this week have continued to inch closer to the psychologically
important $50 barrier, and analysts said the market could cross the mark soon.
"I could tell you that it will be within the next couple of days or weeks,
but this market doesn't really dally," said Peter Beutel of Cameron Hanover.
U.S. crude oil stocks leaped by 6.8 million barrels to 321.5 million, when
analysts had been expecting an increase of just 325,000 barrels, according to a
Dow Jones Newswires Survey. The EIA said inventories are above the upper end of
the average range for this time of year.
Motor gasoline inventories, meanwhile, rose by 3.5 million barrels to 216.8
million, above analysts' expectations of a 2.6 million barrel rise. Distillate
stocks, including heating oil and diesel fuel, rose by 900,000 barrels to 141.9
million barrels, compared with analysts' expectations of a 1.3 million barrel
rise.
The EIA said inventories for both gasoline and distillate fuels are at or
above the upper end of the average range for this time of year.
"I think when you get these huge swings, you have to look not just at one
week but look at the average over the last three weeks," said Phil Flynn of
Alaron Trading Corp.
Over that span, Flynn said the inventory data show some support for crude
prices. If crude prices can stay above $50, Flynn said he thinks the market
could rebound. But if prices cross the threshold, they could drop further.
Before the EIA release, prices had bounced up and down around Wednesday's
settlement price of $52.24, as traders weighed the effect of a cold snap in the
U.S. Northeast and forecasts of bearish demand growth from the International
Energy Agency.
In lowering expectations for this year as well revising last year's figures
downward, the Paris-based IEA cited mild winter weather that has crimped energy
demand and weaker expectations for U.S. economic growth.
In its closely watched monthly oil market report, the energy watchdog
forecast global oil demand growth this year of 85.77 million barrels a day, down
160,000 barrels a day. And it said oil demand growth last year was 120,000
barrels a day lower.
March Brent crude on London's ICE futures exchange slipped $1.24 to $51.54.
Heating oil slipped by 3.53 cents to $1.4645 a gallon while natural gas
futures rose 1 cent to $6.244 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Gasoline prices fell 2.86 cents to $1.35 a gallon.
Oil powerhouse Saudi Arabia remans undeterred by crude's recent drop.
Saudi oil minister Ali Naimi, who earlier this week said he opposed calls
from other OPEC members for new cuts in production, announced Thursday his
country planned to increase its crude oil production capacity nearly 40 percent
by 2009 and double its refining size over the next five years to keep pace with
growing global demand.
Naimi blamed the sharp rise in global crude prices over the past two years
mostly on "insufficient investment and rising energy demand," especially from
the booming economies of Asia.
"The rise has been a wake-up call for the industry and for producers and
consumers alike, who are now beginning to address deliverability problem head
on," he said at an international energy conference in New Delhi.
But Yemen's oil minister, Khalid Mahfoudh Bahah, who was also attending the
conference in New Delhi, said he expects oil price to average between $55 a
barrel and $60 a barrel in the coming months.
Vienna's PVM Oil Associates said Naimi's opposition to further cuts for now
may be a call to other OPEC members "for better compliance with the already
agreed output reductions, the second of which has yet to come into effect."
OPEC has committed to a total cut in output of 1.7 million barrels per day,
including a 500,000 barrel-a-day reduction set to begin Feb. 1. A survey by Dow
Jones estimates OPEC has cut output by little more than half of its pledged
levels. Production remains near 27 million barrels a day or about 700,000
barrels a day above OPEC's target.

Associated Press writers Gillian Wong in Singapore and George Jahn in
Vienna, Austria, contributed to this report.

[ariane] 18/1/2007 09:40

IEA cuts 2006 oil demand growth estimate, lowers 2007 demand growth forecast


LONDON (AFX) - The International Energy Agency cut its 2006 world oil demand
growth estimate and lowered its forecast for 2007 oil demand growth, citing
large revisions to US data, mild weather and lower US GDP forecasts.
The energy watchdog said in a monthly report it now estimates oil product
demand grew by 0.9 pct last year to total 84.4 mln bpd - representing a downward
revision of 120,000 bpd from the last monthly report.
For 2007, the IEA sees oil product demand growing by an annual 1.6 pct to
total 85.8 mln bpd - representing a 160,000 bpd downward revision from the
previous report.
[e-mail]
ma/rar

[grupo guitarlumber] 17/1/2007 10:58

French public prosecutor probes Total for alleged Cameroon corruption - report


PARIS (AFX) - The public prosecutor's office in Paris has launched a
preliminary probe into alleged corruption by Total in connection with its
production and sales of oil in Cameroon, the daily Le Figaro reported.
A Total spokesman declined to comment other than to say the company learned
of the probe from the report.
[e-mail]
afp/mjs/amb

[waldron] 16/1/2007 06:51

Total Venezuela to require state majority share in all oil operations


CARACAS (ASX) - OPEC member Venezuela announced plans yesterday to
"nationalize" oil production in a law requiring the state hold a majority share
in all oil contracts and oil companies working in the country.
Energy Minister Rafael Ramirez said the decision came after the failure last
year to reach agreement with foreign oil companies on joint contracts for
exploration and production in the Orinoco belt oil zone, despite ample
opportunity to negotiate.
"Now, no more negotiations are possible," he said. "The nationalization will
be pronounced by law," which Ramirez said was being drafted and will set out the
specific terms.
"We will assume majority control along the production chain from production
to sales," he said.
ExxonMobil, Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, Total, BP PLC and Statoil have
operations in the Orinoco belt, where they operate in joint ventures with the
state-owned oil company Petroleos de Venezuela (PDVSA) as majority partners.
Venezuela's constitution needs to be amended before such a law can be
passed, however.
"Once the law is passed, we will be able to give details on the terms,"
Ramirez said.
"For now, we are calling on all partners to discuss with each the future of
these strategic associations, which are extraordinarily profitable," he said.
The Caribbean country is the fifth largest exporter of crude oil in the
world, and only Latin American member of OPEC.
The US is Venezuela's top client, purchasing 1.5 million barrels per day.

[e-mail]
afp/jlw

[waldron] 15/1/2007 18:44

The 2007 financial calendar is presented below :

2007 Event
February 14 Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2006 Results

April 4 Individual shareholders' Meeting in Lille

May 3 First Quarter 2007 Results

May 11 2007 Annual Meeting of Shareholders

August 2 Second Quarter & First Half 2007 Results

September 5 2007 Mid-Year Review

November 7 Third Quarter 2007 Results

November 16 & 17 Actionaria Investor Fair in Paris

[waldron] 15/1/2007 18:36

Total Refining Margins Fall as U.S. Operations Resume (Update1)

By Tom Cahill and Fabio Benedetti-Valentini

Jan. 15 (Bloomberg) -- Total SA, Europe's largest oil refiner, said profit from converting crude oil into gasoline, diesel and other products fell 50 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, when storms damaged many U.S. facilities.

The average margin shrank to $22.80 a ton from $45.50 a year earlier, Paris-based Total said today on its Web site.

Total and other refiners including BP Plc had higher margins in late 2005 after Hurricane Katrina knocked out refineries in the U.S. Gulf Coast. The latest quarter was Total's first with production from 550 million euros ($710 million) of equipment to expand output at its Normandy refinery.

BP, Europe's second-largest oil company, said on Jan. 9 its refining global indicator margin, a measure of the profitability of its refineries worldwide, fell 17 percent to $6.30 a barrel in the fourth quarter from $7.60 a year earlier. BP's refining margin in north-west Europe tumbled 55 percent to $2.49.

Brent crude oil rose 4.7 percent to $59.60 a barrel in the period from $56.90 a year earlier, Total said. The sales price of petroleum liquids rose 4.8 percent to $57.10 a barrel in the quarter from $54.50 a barrel. Average natural-gas prices rose 8.5 percent to $6.16 per million British thermal units, from $5.68 a year earlier, Total said.

Total in October started a 550 million-euro distillate hydrocracker unit at its Normandy refinery, the oldest and largest in France. The equipment will produce 1.3 million metric tons of sulfur-free diesel annually.

Earlier this month, ConocoPhillips, the second-largest U.S. oil refiner, said the average U.S. profit on turning oil into fuels dropped 10 percent from a year earlier. San Ramon, California-based Chevron Corp. on Jan. 9 said fourth-quarter earnings were ``adversely affected'' versus the third quarter by lower oil prices and a decline in refining profits and processing caused by maintenance and construction worldwide.

Total is set to release financial results on Feb. 14. The company's shares rose 70 cents, or 1.3 percent, to 52.90 euros at 10:52 a.m. in Paris, matching the day's gain for the 27- member Dow Jones Europe Stoxx Oil & Gas index.

To contact the reporters on this story: Tom Cahill in Paris at [e-mail] ; Fabio Benedetti-Valentini in Paris at [e-mail]

Last Updated: January 15, 2007 05:12 EST

[waldron] 14/1/2007 18:21

Algeria, Iran, Venezuela support OPEC production cut


ALGER (AFX) - Algeria will support any proposal to reduce oil production
should there be an emergency OPEC meeting, while Iran and Venezuela have also
called for new oil production cuts to support falling world crude prices.
Algerian minister of energy Chakib Khelil said it would support OPEC if it
made another decision to cut oil production, following the cartel's recent move
to reduce output by 500,000 barrels per month from February, reported Algerian
news agency APS.
Yesterday, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez said in a speech with his
Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "We agreed this afternoon to
coordinate our forces within OPEC."
"Today we know that there is too much crude in the market, that's why we
support, we will support the decisions that have been taken to reduce production
and protect the price of oil," he said.
Chavez emphasized that he was sending that message "to all the heads of
state in the OPEC countries to continue to strengthen our organization in this
direction."
Venezuela and Iran will "continue to act as always with one voice," said the
president of the only Latin American member of the 11-nation cartel.
The two leaders signed a deal to create an international oil company for
exploration, development, production and distribution, one of 11 agreements
sealed.
Members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries have
expressed concern about the plunging price of oil, which has slid some 14 pct
since the start of the year.
Such sharp falls prompted speculation that OPEC could soon hold an emergency
production meeting.
The United Arab Emirates oil minister, Mohammed al-Hamili, said Thursday
that OPEC had "not yet decided to hold an emergency meeting."
The next regular OPEC meeting is planned for March 15 in Vienna, where the
cartel has its headquarters.
[e-mail]
afp/cml

[waldron] 11/1/2007 19:33

Conocophillips Venezuela may nationalize oil projects


CARACAS, Venezuela (AFX) - Venezuela could nationalize four heavy oil
projects in the oil-rich Orinoco River basin if the state is unable to negotiate
a majority stake with the foreign oil companies that run them, the finance
minister said Thursday.
The remark by Finance Minister Rodrigo Cabezas clarified that the government
is still seeking to obtain majority control through talks with the companies
after President Hugo Chavez announced plans this week to take control of
"strategic sectors" in telecommunications, power, oil and natural gas.
"If the Energy and Petroleum Ministry's negotiations with the four strategic
concessions of the (Orinoco) oil belt were to arrive at nothing, the state could
perform an act of nationalization," Cabezas told state television.
Separately, Cabezas told the Venezuelan newspaper El Universal that as the
state nationalizes dominant telecommunications company C.A. Nacional Telefonos
de Venezuela, or CANTV, "shareholders will receive the fair price of their value
of their shares."
Asked if the call for nationalization includes top power company
Electricidad de Caracas, owned by Arlington, Virginia-based AES Corp., Cabezas
said "it includes the entire electricity sector."
Venezuela's government has been in talks since last year with foreign oil
companies that operate heavy crude upgrading projects in the eastern Orinoco
area, seeking a controlling stake through the formation of new "mixed
companies." Such joint ventures have already been formed in other parts of the
South American country, and most companies have shown a willingness to continue
investing under new terms.
The six firms that currently control the Orinoco projects include British
Petroleum PLC, Exxon Mobil Corp., Chevron Corp., ConocoPhillips Co., Total SA
and Statoil ASA.
Chavez is seeking special powers from the National Assembly to allow him to
enact "revolutionary laws" by decree, and Cabezas told state TV they would
likely include reworking the country's banking laws and reforms for insurance
companies.
"Next week we will decide for sure what laws fall under the president's
special powers," he said.
Venezuela has strict controls in place that limit currency trading, and
Cabezas noted that the price of the dollar in the black market has risen to
historic levels but said there are no plans to devalue the Venezuelan currency,
the bolivar.
He said in Chavez's new six-year term, the government will seek to raise
taxes on companies with hefty profits but will allow private companies to
continue to operate freely.

[waldron] 10/1/2007 14:29

Oil slips as market awaits stockpiles

January 10, 2007 13:52
World oil prices slipped again, one day after striking low points unseen since mid-2005, as traders awaited a market update on US energy stockpiles.

New York's main contract slid 27 cents to $55.37 just before the US markets opened, and in London Brent fell by just two cents to $55.16.


On Tuesday, oil prices sank to the lowest points since mid-June 2005, with New York crude touching €53.88 and Brent $53.64.


Crude has slumped by as much as 12% since the start of 2007 on mild winter weather that has reduced demand for heating fuel, particularly in the US but also in Europe.

Later today, the US Department of Energy was to issue its weekly snapshot of US crude energy reserves.

Dealers said that prices also fell heavily yesterday because of speculation that funds were starting to take their money out of the energy complex as they have lost their appetite after huge losses.

Bank of Ireland analyst Paul Harris added that he doubted that $54 level would be broken following the DoE report.

[waldron] 10/1/2007 13:02

Total SA, Europe's largest refiner, dropped 0.9 percent to 51.4 euros. OMV AG, the biggest oil company in central Europe, slipped 2.4 percent to 39.03 euros.

Crude Oil

Crude oil fell below $55 a barrel in New York on speculation mild weather in the U.S. Northeast and rising fuel stockpiles will curb demand from refiners. Crude oil for February delivery fell as much as $1.07 cents, or 1.9 percent to $54.57 a barrel in after-hours electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

``Sentiment toward the sector is going to be very cautious,'' said Chris Tinker, head of equity research at ICAP Plc in London. ``There is going to be a little bit of concern for energy stocks.''

A U.S. government report today will probably show gasoline and distillate stockpiles in the world's biggest oil consumer rose for a fourth week as reduced heating demand freed refiners to make motor-fuel, according to a survey of analysts. OPEC will bring forward a 500,000 barrel-a-day output cut by three weeks to stem sliding oil prices, Qatar's oil minister said yesterday.

[waldron] 10/1/2007 11:45

OPEC denies to hold emergency meeting before March 15 one


LONDON (AFX) - OPEC denied that it is planning to hold an emergency meeting
before its next scheduled one, due for March 15 in Vienna, denying a report in
the UK's Daily Telegraph today.
An OPEC spokesman said that it would be premature to hold a meeting before
March 15. He said OPEC will wait and see how its latest production cuts affect
the market. The next cut, of 500,000 barrels per day, is due to take effect from
February.
The spokesman added that OPEC ministers were constantly in consultation with
each other and were worried about the declining oil prices.
Oil prices have lost 12 pct of their value since the beginning of the year,
and are currently trading at 18 month lows of around 55 usd per barrel.
Analysts believe OPEC member states do not want oil prices to fall below
this level, as this would jeopardise their revenues.
[e-mail]
afp/cmr/jsa

[grupo guitarlumber] 05/1/2007 11:21

Total BP says Shah Deniz gas field shut indefinitely due to technical fault


LONDON (AFX) - BP PLC has shut the giant Shah Deniz gas field in the Caspian
Sea indefinitely, due to technical problems.
BP is the 25 pct owner and operator of Shah Deniz, which is believed to
contain 1 trln cubic metres of gas, making it the largest gas discovery ever
made by the group.
The 4.5 bln usd Shah Deniz project went on stream last month and is expected
to produce 8.6 bln cubic metres of gas per annum.
"It started production in mid-December and was shut down fairly soon after
due to technical problems," a BP spokesman said.
He declined to say how long it will take for BP to repair the fault.
"These are teething problems and they are being fixed," he added.
Norway's Statoil owns 25 pct of the field, while France's Total, Russia's
LukOil and Azerbaijan's state oil company SOCAR hold 10 pct each.
[e-mail]
mbe/rw

[waldron] 03/1/2007 11:14

Total makes oil discovery off Angola


PARIS (AFX) - Total announced a new discovery of oil in deep water off
Angola, with the drilling of a sixth well.
Results from the sixth well, in block 32, drilled at an underwater depth of
1,806 metres, yielded the equivalent of 3,686 barrels per day from a single
tank, Total said.
Geological and engineering studies will be carried out to evaluate the
production potential of the well.
The Sociedade Nacional de Combustiveis de Angola (Sonangol) is the
concession holder of block 32. Total, the operator, with a 30 pct stake, forms
part of a consortium with Marathon Oil Co, also with 30 pct. The remaining
partners are Sonangol AP, with a 20 pct stake, Esso Exploration and Production
Angola, with 15 pct, and Petrogal, with 5 pct.

[e-mail]
afp/cmr/vb

[grupo] 29/12/2006 15:01

Total Statoil completes Cocuina-2X drilling off Venezuela, confirms dry gas


OSLO (AFX) - Statoil ASA said it has completed the drilling of Cocuina-2X,
as part of a three-well exploration campaign in block 4 of Plataforma Deltana,
off eastern Venezuela.
The well, located 240 km from the Orinoco Delta, was drilled to a total
depth of 3,406 metres.
A total of three intervals were tested in which dry gas was confirmed. Dry
gas is free of liquid hydrocarbons and suitable for pipeline shipping.
The true potential of block 4 cannot be confirmed until the whole
exploration programme has been completed.
Plataforma Deltana Block 4 is a licence awarded to Statoil by the Venezuelan
government in 2003.
Statoil is the operator of the licence, with a 51 pct share. Total holds 49
pct.
[e-mail]
mdl/ic

[ariane] 23/12/2006 06:31

Total to Start Talks to Extend Drilling Contract in Indonesia

By Leony Aurora

Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) -- -- Total SA plans to start talks with Indonesia next year to extend a drilling license that contributes 8 percent of the company's output, before investing $8 billion to tap remaining reserves in the Mahakam Delta.

Europe's third-largest oil company needs a guarantee within four years that exports of liquefied natural gas from Borneo will continue after 2017, when the current drilling contract expires, Philippe Armand, president of Total's Indonesian unit, said in an interview in East Kalimantan province Dec. 20.

``We will not start without confidence that we will recover those investments,'' Armand said. ``It's a very heavy program, a significant project.''

Extension of the contract would help Total bolster reserves as discoveries of new fields dwindle. The government has proposed diverting gas from Mahakam to the domestic market in Java to meet rising energy demand and curb consumption of oil.

Total E&P Indonesie's drilling area contributes 75 percent of supplies to the world's largest LNG plant by capacity in Borneo, enough to meet 40 percent of Japan's needs.

The company is concerned about a possible change in the shareholding split between overseas investors and Indonesian authorities upon contract renewal. Regional governments are lobbying to get a share of output from fields under any new agreement with overseas developers.

In June last year, local authorities in the Cepu area of Central and East Java were handed a share of a field operated by Exxon Mobil Corp. and the state oil company, PT Pertamina, underscoring a trend toward decentralization in the country.

Revenue Split

Total and partner Inpex Holdings Inc. each hold a 50 percent stake in the so-called production sharing contract in East Kalimantan, entitling them to 30 percent of revenue left after recovering costs, while the government gets 70 percent.

The fields including Tunu and Peciko in the drilling area have about 13 trillion cubic feet of reserves left after pumping 10 trillion cubic feet since starting up in the 1980s. The remaining gas will allow production to continue for another quarter century provided there's an adequate return on the investment, Armand told reporters on Dec. 19.

The cost of tapping gas is increasing as the remaining reservoirs pose greater technical challenges, requiring more wells and compressors to pump the gas to the liquefaction plant in Bontang, known as PT Badak NGL, Armand said.

The $8 billion of spending to access the deposits will have ``a significant impact'' beyond the expiry of the current contract, Armand said.

Output Plateau

Total and Inpex have pushed output to a plateau of as much as 2.7 billion cubic feet a day amid dwindling supplies to the LNG plant from Chevron Corp. and Vico Indonesia, a joint venture of BP Plc and Eni SpA. Falling shipments prevented Indonesia from meeting its contractual commitments.

Indonesia may not extend contracts to ship 12 million tons of LNG a year to Japan after they expire in 2010 because Indonesia wants to divert the gas to the domestic market, Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Feb. 8.

Total plans to spend $1 billion, an increase of 22 percent from this year's budget, to drill 122 wells next year, throughout Indonesia, Darto Sayogyo, vice president of drilling and well services at Total E&P Indonesie, said yesterday. The company drilled 116 wells this year, more than the 100 wells planned at the beginning of the year.

Sixty-nine out of 115 production wells to be drilled next year will be in the Tunu field, the company's biggest gas producing area in its Borneo concession, Sayogyo said.

Total will drill three exploration wells in the Mahakam Delta, Makassar Straits and an area north of Lombok island in West Nusa Tenggara province next year. Total will drill four wells next year to further study the extent of previous discoveries, including one in an area near Tunu that is expected to start production in 2009.

To contact the reporter on this story: Leony Aurora in Jakarta at [e-mail]

Last Updated: December 21, 2006 21:18 EST

[waldron] 20/12/2006 07:11

Total May Spend $8 Billion to Tap Remaining Indonesian Reserves

By Leony Aurora

Dec. 20 (Bloomberg) -- Total SA, Europe's third-largest oil company, expects to spend $8 billion over the next nine years to tap its remaining reserves in Indonesia and supply the nation's largest liquefied natural gas plant in Borneo.

Fields of Total E&P Indonesie and partner Inpex Holdings Inc., which produce enough to meet 40 percent of Japan's demand, have about 13 trillion cubic feet of reserves left after pumping 10 trillion cubic feet since starting up in the 1980s, Total Indonesie President Philippe Armand said in Balikpapan, East Kalimantan province, yesterday.

The partners have pushed output to a plateau of as much as 2.7 billion cubic feet a day amid dwindling supplies to the LNG plant from Chevron Corp. and a joint venture of BP Plc and Eni SpA. Reserves in fields operated by Total, including Tunu and Peciko, may keep producing for another quarter century provided the shareholdings and prices give an adequate return on the investment, Armand said.

``Reserves is an economic concept,'' Armand said. ``If the price is down, if the profit isn't shared with the companies, they're not going to invest.''

Total will start producing gas from two new fields, Sisi and nearby Nubi, next year to slow the inevitable decline in output as other fields age, he said. The company expects to ship about 300,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day in 2015, compared with about 560,000 barrels oil equivalent a day at present, Total said in a presentation to journalists.

Still, the project will last for a ``generation to come,'' Armand said.

Japanese Customers

Indonesia may not extend contracts to supply 12 million tons of LNG a year to Japanese buyers after they expire in 2010 because it wants to divert the exported gas to the domestic market, Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said on Feb. 8. Gas prices are currently sold at below $3.5 per million British thermal units, about a third of export prices.

Total accounts for about 75 percent of the gas requirement of PT Badak NGL's plant in Bontang, the world's largest until 2004. Increased output from fields operated by Total hasn't been enough to offset lower supplies from Chevron and Vico Indonesia, a joint venture between BP and Eni, causing Indonesia to cut its shipments to buyers.

To contact the reporter on this story: Leony Aurora in Balikpapan at [e-mail]

Last Updated: December 19, 2006 16:16 EST

[waldron] 19/12/2006 11:35

Total's gas contract in Iran subject of French inquiry for bribery - source


PARIS (AFX) - Total SA is the subject of an inquiry by the Paris public
prosecutor's office over possible bribery payments made by the company as part
of a natural gas contract in Iran between 1996 and 2003, a source close to the
matter told Agence France Presse.
The inquiry, for "fraud" and "corruption of foreign officials", will be led
by investigating judges Philippe Courroye and Xaviere Simeoni, and will apply
only to events after Sept 2000 because of statutory limits, the source said.


[e-mail]
afp/js/vb