2nd UPDATE: Total CEO: 2Q Res Down On Year Due To Oil Prices
July 03 2009 - 1:06PM
Dow Jones News
French oil major Total SA's (TOT) second-quarter earnings will
be lower than a year earlier due to the drop in oil prices, Total
Chairman and Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said
Friday.
"Definitely, with a price which was at the time [second-quarter
2009] half of what it was last year at the same time, we will not
get the same results," de Margerie said, on the sides of an
economics conference in Aix-en-Provence, southern France.
Total posted second-quarter 2008 net profit of EUR4.73 billion,
up 39% on the year.
"We have the capabilities financially and with our portfolio to
continue to grow and expecting of course a better environment," he
said.
He played down the impact of the second quarter on the company's
health.
"That's not a big change for the company. You just have to be
concerned about the fact that this crisis exists and it exists also
for big companies," he said.
Discussions with Iran's authorities continue regarding the
development of the South Pars natural gas field.
"They haven't been interrupted nor did they start again, they're
near a not-so-advanced stage," he said.
De Margerie said he intends to maintain working relationships
with Iran, despite the current local political situation.
"All we're looking for is that things calm down," he said,
adding liquefied natural gas matters "are very complex," and that
Chinese energy companies "don't have the same expertise" as Total
when it comes to LNG.
Reports in Iran recently suggested that Total, which plans to be
part of the LNG project, would be replaced by China National
Petroleum Corp.
As for Venezuela, "we are thinking as part of our policy to find
new long term partnerships if Venezuela, which is not an easy
country, can be a place where Total plus CNPC could be stronger
than Total on its own or CNPC on its own," de Margerie said.
According to sources involved in the bidding round, Total and
CNPC now plan to bid for two oil large blocks being auctioned in
Venezuela.
Total doesn't intend to be an important investor in French
state-controlled nuclear group Areva (CEI.FR), de Margerie also
said.
Total owns 1% of Areva's capital equity and "if, to help, we
must do a little gesture, we'll see, but we will never be an
important investor in Areva," he added.
Areva earlier this week announced a EUR1.5 billion rights
issue.
He said he had detailed discussions with Iraqi authorities
during his trip there Thursday.
He explained to them why Total refused to accept the terms that
were offered by the Iraqi government to grant oil field development
rights.
"We will do our best on both sides to find solutions so that
Total can participate in the near term (and) medium term to the
development of the huge resources of Iraq," he said.
He said that all companies that bid - except one - turned down
the remuneration term offered by the Iraqi authorities in its
tender offer process.
-By Geraldine Amiel and Nathalie Boschat, Dow Jones Newswires;
+33 1 40171740; geraldine.amiel@dowjones.com,
nathalie.boschat@dowjones.com;