Total to Sell Assets

[Lucas]

Total SA, the third biggest oil company in Europe, announced that it plans to unload assets worth as much as $20 billion in order to collect enough cash for oil and gas projects. The French oil giant raised its output expectations to an average of 3% per year for the period between 2011 and 2015, after the company initial target was 2.5% per year, according to a statement. For the first time the oil-producing company issued a long-term oriented target, saying production will rise to 3 million barrels per day in 2017. Chief Executive Officer Christophe de Margerie announced that cash flow projections are giving Total the ability to increase dividends and to invest in production. The shares of the company pared their early declines on the news to trade at 40.93 euros.

Source: binaryoption