Total seen unlikely to fight ExxonMobil over South Pacific gas

Total SA is unlikely to take on ExxonMobil in a bidding war for explorer InterOil Corp , the French giant's partner in a rich gas field in Papua New Guinea, analysts said on Wednesday.ExxonMobil this week trumped an offer from Oil Search, which was backed by Total. Oil Search is due to declare on Thursday whether or not it will match ExxonMobil's $2.2 billion bid. ExxonMobil and Total both want to simplify the ownership of the Elk-Antelope gas field by taking out InterOil's 36.5 percent stake.