Total CEO: Co Probably Will Expand In Canada Through Buys
15 May 2009 - 8:48PM
Dow Jones News
Oil major Total SA (TOT), which recently withdrew a bid for
Canada's UTS Energy Corp. (UTS.T), will "probably" expand in
Canada's oil sands by buying other units, Chief Executive
Christophe de Margerie said Friday.
Total last month withdrew its C$830 million hostile bid for
Canada's UTS Energy Corp. (UTS.T) after failing to win over enough
shareholders.
The attempt to buy UTS wasn't a "miss," as it illustrates
Total's discipline and unwillingness to pay more for an asset than
it believes it should, de Margerie said.
"We will probably do it (expand the company's position in the
Canadian oil sands) with other operations," he said at the
company's annual general meeting of shareholders.
Still, de Margerie also noted that Total also already has
opportunities to expand there based on its existing assets in the
oil sands.
Separately, de Margerie said that Canadian oil sands assets have
the advantage that Canadian law doesn't insist on their immediate
development, allowing the company to decide when best to go
ahead.
-By Adam Mitchell, Dow Jones Newswires; +33 1 40171740;
adam.mitchell@dowjones.com