Oil major Total buys 25 pct stake in French group

* Total has signed an agreement with Ecoslops S.A., an innovative company that regenerates oil residues into new fuels and light bitumen, that gives the oil major a 25% interest in its affiliate Ecoslops Provence.

* Ecoslops Provence is building a unit to regenerate oil residues at Total's La Mède complex. The new facility is scheduled to come on stream in late 2019

* In 2019, the La Mède complex will be the site of France's first world-class biorefinery, for a capital expenditure of ?275 million. It will produce 500,000 tons of hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) biodiesel a year.