Total Sells Nigerian Assets, others to Pay Dividends

Total SA (FP), the French energy company has said that it will sell its assets in France and Nigeria and that it will use the proceeds to pay dividends and develop oil and gas ventures as it rules out acquisitions.

Total’s focus will be on payouts to shareholders, part of a “strong dividend policy,” while investment to develop its 40 years’ worth of resources will “grow the company,” he said. Total kept the third-quarter dividend unchanged at 59 euro cents (77 U.S. cents) a share when it reported earnings in October.

Christophe de Margerie, chief executive officer , Total SA, said “No more acquisitions, we have plenty of reserves to develop. We are full of resources for the long term.”

The French oil company follows BP Plc (BP/) and other energy producers in expanding asset sales to bolster cash flow while shifting the focus of investment.

Project development will center on the company’s more lucrative ventures, while exploration drilling may help it achieve a production target of 3 million barrels of oil and gas a day in 2017.

As part of portfolio changes, Total has agreed to sell a 20 percent stake in a field off Nigeria to China Petrochemical Corp. (1314) in a $2.5 billion deal announced last month. It’s also selling a network of gas pipelines and storage facilities in southwestern France that may fetch about 2.5 billion euros.

“We need to be more aggressive in the way we buy and sell,” de Margerie said. Total has suffered from “too much of a tendency to keep everything. We can also sell.”

The company plans to complete $15 billion to $20 billion of divestments from 2012 to 2014. Most will come from the exploration and production division, the CEO has said.

The explorer is investing in projects from shale drilling in the U.S. and Argentina to oil sands in Canada, a refinery in the Middle East and offshore gas projects in Australia, where de Margerie said costs are soaring.

“Years ago it was considered paradise on earth and everybody was telling you to go to Australia,” he said. “Now suddenly it’s hell, due to prices, costs.”