Total says high-cost, low-price scenario unsustainable

Total’s new senior vice-president E&P Africa Guy Maurice has given a sombre assessment of market conditions, citing an unsustainable combination of high costs and a low oil price. Speaking to the opening session of Global Pacific & Partners’ Africa Oil Week in Cape Town on 4 November, he paid tribute to chief executive Christophe de Margerie, who was killed in a plane crash in Moscow on 20 October. Maurice, who was appointed in April following a 30-year career with Total, said continuity and stability were very high on the agenda of new chief executive Patrick Pouyanné, who was previously president of refining and chemicals.