During the company’s annual strategy update on Wednesday, CEO Patrick Pouyanné warned that the European Commission is likely to roll back its proposed sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) requirement, mirroring Brussels’ recent decision to shelve its ban on new combustion-engine cars from 2035. Pouyanné cited internal policy debates in Brussels suggesting that the cost differential—estimated at €0.80–€1.20 per liter of jet fuel—could prove politically untenable for major carriers. He noted that TotalEnergies has already invested more than €1.3 billion in SAF production facilities at its La Mède biorefinery and Rotterdam complex, capacity equivalent to around 100,000 tonnes per year, and is ready to reallocate that capital should the EU directive be withdrawn.

TotalEnergies reaffirmed its plan to expand upstream output by 4% year-on-year, targeting 3.0 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d) by the end of 2024 and 3.5 million boe/d by 2026. The company plans to deploy €14 billion of its 2024–2026 €60 billion capital expenditure budget into high-return projects in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (Madison and Weymouth fields) and offshore West Africa (EACOP pipeline tie-ins), which together should add 200,000 boe/d of new production by mid-2025. Management highlighted that growing power demand—from electric vehicles in Europe and data-center expansion in North America—will help offset a 10–15% projected decline in crude realizations next year.