French oil giant Total SA (TOT) confirmed Monday it's in talks with two other major French energy groups over possible projects in the nuclear energy sector.
Total has a stated objective to expand into the nuclear energy sector.
At a seminar for journalists, Philippe Boisseau, Total's director general for gas and new energies, said the company is looking to join up in the nuclear sector with the big French state-owned nuclear engineering group Areva (CEI.FR) and utilities group Suez (SZE.FR), without providing details of specific projects they may cooperate on.
Total is positioning itself in the nuclear market via its competence in managing large projects, Boisseau said.
It also has the capacity to assume long-term capital intensive projects, he added. He also cited the company's history of relations and partnerships with energy producing countries.
Boisseau noted that the nuclear industry will be required to make substantial investments in the next 30 years as most nuclear installations will need to be replaced.
Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie said later at the seminar that it's much too early to talk of Total becoming an operator of nuclear plants.
Outlining future investments, he said the company will spend $1 billion on reasearch and development is 2008, up 20% from 2007. It will spend $1.8 billion on exploration.
In France alone, around 75% of electricity is produced by nuclear power plants. The company is also looking to partner with Suez and Electricite de France (1024251.FR) in solar energy.
(Source: http://www.easybourse.com/)
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About two years ago Total's CEO said hands down nuclear is the energy source of the 21st century.. And Total as one of the world's major energy players needs to become a big nuclear player.
Similiar thought were echoed in Houston Texas.. where the government there said Houston is teh energy capital of the world, and to be that in the 21st century it needs to play a leading role in the fuel of this century, nuclear.
I can see now that its blatantly obvious that cars are going to go to the electric grid within two decades. As plug-in hybrids and all electric vehicles. The technology is viable now the only issue is cost, and that is closing in.. eg.. the Mitsubishi MiEV, 22,000$, 180km all electric range, 4 seat normal car, due out next year in Japan. They are only going to get better and cheaper with time.
--aa2
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