Total Ends New Investment In New US Dry Shale Gas Plays - Upstream Online

[hatrack]

EDIT

The French giant shelled out $2.25 billion for a 25% slice of Chesapeake Energy's Barnett Shale assets in January 2010.

"Our investment in Texas shows a serious loss which, of course, does not question Total's results or development," he said. The Total chief said the company had invested in Texas on the basis of gas at more than $6 per British thermal unit, but that "today we are at $3.2 (per btu). It does not work".

"It is clear that we [should] soft-pedal. I see no point in investing ... where there is no profitability," de Margerie said of the dry shale gas market. “The fields are still there, the permits are still valid and production will restart when gas prices return to above cost levels,” he added.

The situation in the Utica area was different because it was based on more profitable gas rich with condensates, he said.

EDIT

http://www.upstreamonline.com/live/article1313649.ece

[Arctic Dave]

1. As was expected.

Producing O&G in this manner was a house of cards.

Without inflated prices none of it is worth the cost of extracting.