LNG

TotalEnergies, the French major with multiple energy and LNG projects under development, has pledged at a two-day meeting of the board to maintain a multi-energy strategy with current Chairman and Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné at the helm.

The company said the board met on September 20-21 in Paris to review the strategic outlook in the context of “changing energy markets because of the energy transition and evolving geopolitical” events.

TotalEnergies has oil and gas interests from Argentina to Asia and is a leading global LNG market participants. Its immediate LNG plans include developing the huge onshore Mozambique LNG export project,  expanding LNG production in Papua New Guinea and taking part in the liquefaction build-out in Qatar.

Relevance

The board noted the relevance of the company’s balanced multi-energy strategy considering the developments in the oil, gas and electricity markets. 

“Thanks to refocusing the oil and gas portfolio on assets and projects with low breakeven and low greenhouse gas emissions, and to the diversification into electricity, notably renewable, through an integrated strategy from production to customer, the company is in a very favorable position to take advantage of changing energy markets and prices” the board said in a statement.

With a breakeven anchored below $25 a barrel of oil, TotalEnergies said it was a much more “efficient and profitable company today than it was 10 years ago” at the same oil equivalent price.

The board noted that the company managed to generate an additional $15 billion of cash flow in 2022. 

“Thus, by end-2022, the company benefits from a fortress balance sheet and is positioned to both implement its transition strategy and to guarantee an attractive shareholder return policy,” the board added.

Continuity

The board said that while it was reaffirming its support for the “quality and the relevance” of the strategy, which will be presented to investors on September 27, the Board considers as appropriate to ensure the continuity of the company’s governance and leadership.

“The board, thus, considers that it is highly desirable that Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and CEO, continues to drive this strategy’s deployment at the helm of the company,” the company declared.

“On the proposal of the Governance and Ethics Committee, it has therefore unanimously decided that the renewal of the mandate of Patrick Pouyanné will be proposed to the General Meeting in May 2024,” it said.

Jacques Aschenbroich, the lead independent director at the French major, underlined and also expressed his confidence in the current leadership.

“Since 2014, Patrick has done an extraordinary job leading TotalEnergies in a complex environment, delivering outstanding financial results and engaging the company in the energy transition quicker and stronger than its peers,” said Aschenbroich. 

“The board unanimously looks forward to his continued leadership and his strategic vision,” stated Aschenbroich.

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TotalEnergies, the leading European oil and gas company and liquefied natural gas developer in Africa and elsewhere, has been forced to defend itself against wild allegations over its business role in Russian LNG and energy.

Oct 15 (LNGJ) - TotalEnergies Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanné told a virtual energy conference that while everyone wanted an energy transition to cleaner fuel and there was “huge pressure” to quit fossil fuels it remained a fact that these same fossil fuels currently represent 80 percent of the energy supply today on the planet. Regarding decarbonization strategies, Pouyanné said carbon offsets do not help and TotalEnergies remained focused on cutting emissions directly from its operations. “We are building a multi-energy company with oil and gas, but also renewables and electricity,” added Pouyanné.

   The CEO said he remained “bullish” on natural gas, and LNG in particular, because TotalEnergies sees natural gas as the right choice for the energy transition. TotalEnergies has worldwide LNG investments, including the currently stalled liquefaction and export project in Mozambique.