Total to sell $20 billion of assets as it raises output goal
PARIS. September 25. KAZINFORM. Total SA (FP), Europe's third-largest oil company, plans to sell as much as $20 billion in assets to raise cash for oil and gas projects.
Total said it would try to sell $15 billion to $20 billion of assets between 2012 and 2014 to cement "active portfolio management," according to a statement. Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie said the outlook for cash flow gave the company scope to increase dividends and invest in output.
Total has increased the pace of acquisitions and asset sales in recent years to shuffle its portfolio and raise production. The French explorer is following BP Plc (BP/) which has a target to sell $38 billion of assets by the end of 2013 and has completed about $32 billion so far. Total completed $15 billion of asset sales in 2010 and 2011, including in European refining capacity and shares in drugs maker Sanofi, Kazinform has learnt from Bloomberg.
The French explorer has also pledged to step up and make "bolder" the search for oil and gas. This strategy has seen Total move into so-called frontier nations including French Guiana and Kenya, while continuing to invest in large production projects in Kazakhstan, Canada and Australia.
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