Forex Marketz Daily Forex News – Fully Markets Update
Overnight, the chief executive officer of France’s oil giant Total (TOTAL S.A.: NYSE) , Christophe de Margerie was killed in a plane accident at Moscow’s Vnukovo International Airport. The plane collided with a snow-clearing machine. Three crewmembers and the passenger, Mr. de Margerie, were killed.
The news was confirmed by officials at the airport shortly after the accident and a short while ago Total released a press release regarding the death of their CEO.
The collision occurred as the plane, a Dassault Falcon, was beginning to take off late last night, just before midnight Moscow time. The plane’s flight plan showed it was on its way back to Paris, France.
Mr. De Margerie, 63, was one of the attendees of a Russian government meeting regarding investment for Gorki which is near Moscow. He was a graduate of Ecole Superieure de Commerce. A business school in Paris and became CEO of Total nearly seven years ago. He later became the company’s chairman of the board in May 2010. Before that he ran Total’s exploratory and product line.
Total S.A. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange and is France’s second biggest company valued at €102 billion. It is also the West’s fourth largest oil and gas company. Recently, Total announced that it would cut its oil output for 2017 and, instead, focus on asset sales while overhauling its exploration division. Like many other oil companies, Total has seen a lot of shareholder pressure to reduce overall costs. There has also been pressure to raise its dividends as the decrease in oil and rising industry costs have weighed heavily on profits.
Last July, Mr. de Margerie said he should be judged on what he does in the future with new projects he launches as CEO. This includes a new set of African fields. He has also said that any successor for his position would come from within the company.
Total is one of Russia’s leading foreign investors but their relationship soured after a Malaysian airliner was shot down by pro-Russian rebels in the Ukraine. This had a negative impact with Russia, an oil rich country, and the West as it threatened even more sanctions to be imposed. This would have hurt Russia as an oil supplier making its relationship with Total murky.
Last month, Total said the recent string of sanctions imposed on Moscow would not affect` its investment with the Yamal project. This is a $27 billion project to exploit the massive natural gas deposits in the northwest Siberian region. This project will more than double Russia’s exposure in the ever expanding natural gas market. Total, specifically de Margerie, has made it clear that Europe needed this natural gas in Russia and there was no reason to stop this venture.
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