Total takes 2.3 bn stake in US shale gas fields

The Total SA headquarters stand on Esplanade de la Defense in Paris (File photo)

French oil group Total said yesterday it was taking a 25 percent stake in shale gas fields in the US state of Ohio for a total investment of USD 2.3 billion (1.8 billion euros).
Total said its US subsidiary was entering into a joint venture with a subsidiary of Chesapeake Energy Corporation and its partner EnerVest that hold rights to 619,000 acres (250,500 hectare).
It said it paid roughly USD 700 million in cash to acquire the fields, and committed to cover up to USD 1.63 billion in drilling and well completion investments over six years.
“This joint venture will provide us with a material position in a valuable long-term resource base under attractive terms and with a top-class operator,” Total said in a statement in Paris.
The 13 wells drilled to date have shown promising results Total said, and that drilling is to be ramped up over then next few years with 25 rigs to be completed by 2014 to better evaluate the field.
Total said it expects that by the end of the decade that its share of production from the fields to reach 100,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.