MOSCOW (MRC) -- French oil major Total SA Thursday said it was awarded ten exploration licenses on several blocks in Brazil, during the country's 11th oil and gas exploration auctions, reported The Wall Street Journal.
The announcement is consistent with the group's strategy of looking for oil and gas in risky areas such as deep offshore sites, as in Brazil. The oil major is engaged in a world race to find new oil and gas reserves to address the increasing demand in emerging markets.
"Total has expanded its prospecting and operating acreage in the country, which was one of our main objectives in 2013," Total's senior vice president for exploration Marc Blaizot said in a statement.
Total will hold a 40% interest in five blocks located in the Foz de Amazonas basin, and a 45% in one block in the Ceara basin. It will be the operator for the six blocks.
In addition, Total has acquired a 25% working interest in three blocks in the Espirito Santo basin and a 50% interest in one block in the Barreinrinhas basin.
The acquisitions will "bolster our solid portfolio of prime assets on both sides of the Atlantic, in Africa and the Americas," Mr. Blaizot also said.
We remind that, as MRC informed ealier, last September Total announced its plans to invest over EUR1 billion at its Belgian refining and petrochemical complex to boost its diesel-making capacity and create cost-cutting synergies. This investment could bring Europe's largest refiner extra cash of USD500 mln a year.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil and gas company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Total is also a large-scale chemicals manufacturer.
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