TOTAL Commences Trinidad Phase 2

TOTAL S.A (TOT - Analyst Report) and its partners said, yesterday, that it has begun Phase 2 of gas development at the Greater Angostura field, located in the Block 2(c) about 24 miles off the northeastern coast of Trinidad.

The Greater Angostura field includes oil and gas discoveries at Aripo, Kairi and Canteen. The offshore field produces oil and gas in water depths of about 131 feets, with a design capacity to produce about 280 million cubic feet of gas per day (7.9 million cubic meters per day).

TOTAL said the first development phase of the Greater Angostura field produces oil from Kairi and Canteen with the associated gas re-injected. The first phase had started in January 2005. The second phase mainly comprises producing the gas from Aripo.

As part of Phase 2, TOTAL has installed a new gas production platform alongside the existing oil facilities. The company said the project delivered on schedule and is within budget.

Also, TOTAL said that it has tied up with National Gas Company of Trinidad and Tobago Limited (NGC) to take delivery of the gas produced at the field. 

TOTAL co-owns the Greater Angostura field with BHP Billiton (BBL - Snapshot Report) and Chaoyang. BHP Billiton has 45% interest and operates the field, while TOTAL and Chaoyang have 30% and 25% interests, respectively.

TOTAL of France is one of the largest publicly traded, globally integrated oil and gas companies based on production volumes, proved reserves and market capitalization. The company has exploration and production operations across five continents.

The company reported strong results in the first quarter of 2011, surpassing our expectation.  Going forward, the company expects strong results at its Upstream and Downstream segments in the second quarter, driven by the start-up of various development projects which were acquired in first quarter 2011.

We also appreciate the approach of the company to gradually expand its operations worldwide through acquisitions and partnerships. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimates for second quarter 2011, fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2012 are $1.99, $7.76 and $8.42 per share, respectively.

TOTAL S.A. currently retains a Zacks #1 Rank (short-term Strong Buy rating). We maintain a long-term Neutral rating on the stock. The company competes with Statoil ASA (STO - Analyst Report).

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