Total SA: May Restructure But Won't Close Industrial Sites in France-Report

By William Horobin

PARIS--French oil major Total SA (TOT) will keep its industrial sites open in France, despite efforts to cut investment and operating costs in 2015 due to the oil price slump, Chief Executive Patrick Pouyanne said in an interview with French daily Le Monde.

In the interview published on the website of Le Monde, Mr. Pouyanne said all Total employees will be retained and though the sites in France could be restructured, none will be closed. Total needs to restructure its refining activities in France as two of its five refineries are loss making.

"Total has the means, even if this means losing more money for a year or two," he says.

Mr Pouyanne, who took the top job at Total late last year after the death of Christophe de Margerie in a plane crash in Russia, repeated that oil company's target of cutting investment by 10% in 2015 from EUR26 billion in 2014. Exploration spending will fall 30% in 2015 from EUR2.8 billion in 2014 and the company will step up planned cuts in operating expenses by EUR400 million to EUR1.2 billion.

"Total has already overcome periods of low prices," Mr. Pouyanne is says. "Total is solid an will be able to easily get through this low point."

-Write to William Horobin at [e-mail]