TotalEnergies hopes for better downstream year

The French major aims to make up ground after its recovery lagged peers in 2020

The post-Covid rebound in TotalEnergies’ European refinery margins last year was notably sluggish compared with its peers. But the firm is hoping for a perky performance in 2022. Its Q4 2021 European marker was just $2.30/bl, well below levels recorded by other refiners such as Portugal’s Galp, Spain’s Repsol, Poland’s PKN and Austria’s OMV, as well as the global refining margin reported by fellow major Shell (see Fig.1). It also restated its Q3 margin when presenting its Q4 results, revising it down from $2.80/bl to a more anaemic $1.20/bl. “Some markets, like aviation fuel, are still not yet at their pre-pandemic level” Pouyanne, TotalEnergies The firm’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, is hopeful