TOTAL SA (TOT) reported third-quarter earnings of €0.84 per share ($1.20 per share), above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $1.12 and second-quarter profit of €0.77. However, earnings declined from €1.81 reported a year ago. Earnings improved sequentially based on higher production, better realizations and lower costs.   Total revenues declined 31% from the year-ago quarter but improved 7% sequentially to €33.6 billion. The decline was caused mainly by lower realized oil and gas prices in the Upstream segment, reduced throughput volumes in the Downstream segment and a revenue decline at the chemicals segment.   Total hydrocarbon production averaged 2,243 thousand barrels of oil equivalent (MBOE) per day, up 0.5% from last year and 2.8% from the previous quarter. The increase was mainly due to production improvements and start-ups of new fields; offset by OPEC reductions and lower gas demand, disruptions in Nigeria, and changes in portfolio essentially in ...

Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) completed the sale of its Netherlands-based crude oil refinery to Paris-based Total SA (TOT), one of the six major global oil companies, for about $800 million. The refinery is a key supplier of refined products, including diesel, to the European market. The move is in line with Dow’s strategy of divesting non-core assets. The deal received regulatory approval last month.

The Midlands, Michigan-based chemical company stated that the divestiture will increase its financial flexibility, improve cash flow and will help pay down debt. The company plans to use the proceeds from the deal to pay down debt, which was raised for the Rohm and Haas acquisition.

The Rohm and Haas acquisition increased Dow’s net debt from $8 billion to $22 billion in the first half of 2009. This resulted in a significant net cash deficit of $19 billion during the period. However, Dow Chemical has become

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For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – September 2, 2009 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR), Sinopec (SNP), Total SA (TOT), CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and Vodafone (VOD).

Get the most recent insight from Zacks Equity Research with the free Profit from the Pros newsletter: http://at.zacks.com/?id=5513

Here are highlights from Tuesday’s Analyst Blog:

PetroChina Sings 'O Canada'

Yesterday, PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR), the largest integrated oil company in China, agreed to pay C$1.9 billion ($1.7 billion) to acquire a majority stake in two oil sands projects in western Canada.

As per the terms of the agreement with Athabasca Oil Sands Corp.

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Yesterday, PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR), the largest integrated oil company in China, agreed to pay C$1.9 billion ($1.7 billion) to acquire a majority stake in two oil sands projects in western Canada. As per the terms of the agreement with Athabasca Oil Sands Corp. (a privately held Calgary-based group), the Chinese energy giant will purchase a 60% working interest in the Canadian company’s proposed MacKay River and the Dover ventures in northern Alberta. The deal, which awaits certain regulatory approvals, is currently the largest venture by China in Canadian oil sands. According to an independent third party evaluation, the oil sands that PetroChina plans to exploit are estimated to contain as many as five billion barrels of reserves, about half of Athabasca’s total recoverable resources. Peak production from the two sites is projected to reach 300,000 – 500,000 barrels per day, with first volumes expected in ...

The largest oil refiner in the U.S., Valero Energy Corporation (VLO), is deferring its search for overseas acquisitions following the decline of an acquisition stake in a Netherlands refinery.   The company had sought acquisition of Dow Chemical’s (DOW) 45% interest in the TRN refinery for an enterprise value of approximately $725 million. But the refinery’s major stake holder, Total SA (TOT), turned down Valero’s offer by exercising its right of first refusal. Valero wanted to confine the European diesel market by capturing this acquisition opportunity. On the other hand, yesterday, the company closed one of its refineries in San Nicolas, Aruba, indefinitely. Despite the refinery’s capability of processing low-cost heavy sour crude oil, it was suffering from low product margins. These factors point to our weak outlook for near-term refinery margins and a growing list of medium- to long-term challenges. Weak refined product ...

PetroChina Company Ltd. (PTR) has discovered solid gas flow at an onshore well in the east Sulige gas field, China. Daily output from this well is 610,000 cubic meters.

Discovered in 2000, the Sulige field has a projected 534 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It is located in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, one of the most resource-rich areas in China, which produced 3.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas in 2008.

China National Petroleum Corporation, the parent of PetroChina, had received a grant from the Government to start building a natural gas plant in Inner Mongolia in 2009, which will process the production from this field. The new plant is expected to be online by the end of 2010. The new gas plant will be the fourth one at the Sulige natural gas field in Inner Mongolia's Ordos basin.

Using its own technology, and in partnership with foreign companies

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According to Energy Minister Sergei Shmatko, during Vladimir Putin's upcoming visit to Turkey it is expected that deals on energy projects will be secured.  Russia will sign an agreement with Turkey on building a pipeline to transport Black Sea Oil to the Mediterranean, bypassing the Bosphorus Straits.  'The West's propaganda campaign regarding Nabucco creates a false impression that the EU will improve its energy security by diversifying Europe's gas suppliers', suggests Tatyana Mitrova in the Moscow Times, with the pipeline capable of transporting only 10 billion to 20 billion cubic meters of gas a year.  Both Shell and BP are postponing decisions on major projects on the basis that costs may drop.  Russian helicopter maker Vertolyoty Rossii and Israel's IAI are creating a new unmanned helicopter system for Gazprom to survey the working of gas pipelines.  Russia ...

Russian Vice Prime Minister Igor Sechin's visit to Venezuela has concentrated on energy cooperation.  Gazprombank has agreed to offer a $4 billion loan to finance the development of minerals and other raw materials in the oil-rich nation.  The governments have also agreed to create a joint venture between PDVSA- Servicios, Venezuela's state owned oilfield services subsidiary, and Gazprom's Latin American division.  Sechin will also pursue energy cooperation in Nicaragua, where, the Russian ambassador to Managua says, 'there are very good prospects for prospecting and extracting oil on the Atlantic and Pacific shelves'.  Gazprom has announced that the Bolivian deposits it is exploring with Total SA and YPFB contain 285 billion cubic meters of natural gas.  Prime Minister Putin has proposed that VEB lend Gazprombank $2.41 billion.  Turkmenistan has promised Britain gas supplies once the Nabucco ...

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CNOOC Ltd. (NYSE ADR: CEO) …

Marathon Sells Offshore Angola Stake On Friday, July 17, integrated oil major Marathon Oil Corporation (MRO) announced the sale of its 20% interest in a block offshore Angola for $1.3 billion. A subsidiary of Marathon has reached an agreement with Chinese oil companies CNOOC Ltd. (CEO) and Sinopec (SNP). The transaction is expected to close by year-end 2009, subject to government and regulatory approvals. Per the deal, CNOOC and Sinopec will form a 50-50 venture to buy the stake in the subsea Angolan oilfield located some 150 kilometers off the country's coast in a water depth of 1400 to 2200 meters. Known as ‘Block 32,’ the 5,090-square-kilometer field has already yielded 12 successful exploration wells. Pursuant to the proposed sale, the Houston-based, fifth-largest refiner and marketer of petroleum products in the U.S. would retain a 10% interest in the enterprise of the 30% it ...