Total sticks to its guns on exploration and transition
The French oil and gas major refuses to be eclipsed by shale
Total's decision to launch its boldest exploration strategy in five years, in 2019, contrasts sharply with moves by other majors to largely prioritise US shale acreage over frontier markets. The French firm aims to drill treble the number of offshore and onshore wells drilled in the last two years, at 23 in 2019, even as the promise of more easily controllable costs and high productivity leads the likes of Chevron and ExxonMobil to ramp up Permian Basin activities. The exploration strategy sits well within an outward-looking tradition driven by France's comparative lack of domestic hydrocarbon resources. Since its inception in 1924 as the French Petroleum Company, Total has grown to operate
Also in this section
3 May 2024
Upcoming elections are likely to deliver a win for the party of president Andres Lopez Obrador, but analysts differ over to what degree his successor will stick to his energy policies
2 May 2024
Faster-than-expected economic growth fails to mask macro imbalances and shifting structural oil product trends
1 May 2024
Energean CEO Mathios Rigas looks to results of critical Anchois appraisal well
30 April 2024
While its regional neighbours reap the rewards of oil and gas success, Iraq’s hydrocarbons sector is lagging behind