Total sees 2017 output potential at 3mn oil barrels/day

PARIS: French oil group Total expects its production potential to reach about 3 million barrels of oil a day in 2017 bolstered by new projects, the bulk of which have already come on stream, up from about 2.4 million now.

Total expects to grow its output by about 3 percent a year on average from 2011-2015, based at a price of $100 a barrel with growth ramping up sharply in subsequent years.

 It planned to sell assets worth as much as $20 billion through to 2014. The merger of its refining and chemical units should add an extra $650 million to net results by 2015.