Total Sells Argentine Power Assets To Local Investors

Total Austral, the Argentine subsidiary of French oil producer Total, has sold its 60% stake in local thermal power producer Central Puerto and a 40% stake in hydroelectricity company Piedra del Aguila to Sociedad Argentina de Electricidad (Sadesa) and Merrill Lynch. The sums involved were not disclosed but the sales are thought to be worth around $35 million and $140 million, respectively. The acquisition by Sadesa, comprising a group of local investors, has been lauded in the Argentine press as another sign of the return to national ownership of utility companies, reversing the trend that began in the 1990s with the privatization program. Total, for its part, says it has sold its generating assets in Argentina so that it can focus on exploration and production in the country.