(Bloomberg) – TotalEnergies SE will continue to bear down on pump prices in France through the current oil crisis, as it participates in a government-led release of strategic diesel reserves to further ease consumer costs, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanne said.
The French oil major will make varying price cuts for diesel and heating fuel from Nov. 1 to Jan. 31 to help customers including farmers, fishermen, and construction firms, with road diesel trimmed by about 10 euro cents a liter. That’s as the company distributes part of the government’s strategic reserves, the CEO added.
The company, which already spent about €500 million ($559 million) to cap prices at its French services stations, “will aim to remain the cheapest retail network in France, maybe even beyond the crisis,” Pouyanne said after a meeting between the government and fuel retailers in Paris Monday. The company’s domestic service stations have gained market share due to its price cap, the CEO acknowledged.
The Group of Seven Nations agreed this month toreleaseas much as 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from strategic reserves amid fears that the US could impose a diesel export ban. Governments across the world have been seeking to mitigate a cost-of-living crisis as prices for the fuel have soared due to disruptions to flows through the Strait of Hormuz and Ukrainian attacks on Russian refineries.
Amid a jump in refining margins, TotalEnergies may pay about €600 million in taxes on corporate profits in France in 2026, Pouyanne said Monday.
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