Computers handed over to reception, mobile phones sealed in a pouch: this afternoon, the instructions were strict for the TotalEnergies annual general meeting, Friday May 24. A little too much, for the taste of some shareholders: “I feel like I’m in prison”, complains one of them, microphone in hand, with a hint of exaggeration, to the address of the CEO, Patrick Pouyanné. This ” prison “ it is the Coupole tower, one of the tallest in the La Défense district (Hauts-de-Seine), headquarters of the oil and gas multinational.
At the entrance to the skyscraper, police trucks and private security agents are lined up, in case of overflow. They remind us that each AGM of the company is now a meeting under threat of “potential inconvenience”, says his boss. To protest against new oil and gas projects, environmental NGOs tried last year to block access to the Salle Pleyel, in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, the location of the previous gathering.
For the 2024 edition, the now century-old company has chosen to retreat to its premises in La Défense. Some 700 shareholders took their seats, some in an “amphitheater”, others in an adjoining room broadcasting the discussion. In the main room, one of them welcomed the absence of demonstrators, this time, in front of the company’s HQ – “pollutants”, according to his vocabulary. Around him, some applause.
Renewal for three years
Summary of the day: at almost 61 years old, Patrick Pouyanné was re-elected for a fourth three-year term. With 75.7% of the votes cast this year, it obtained a score close to that of its previous renewal (77.4% in 2021).
To voters, he promised to ” stay focus ” of its strategy, after record profits (19.8 billion euros in 2023). On the one hand, as he had already announced, the CEO wants to further increase its hydrocarbon production by 2028, by increasing its gas volumes and stabilizing those of oil. On the other hand, it reaffirms its intention to accelerate the deployment of solar and wind power. In view, for the company: to increase the gross renewable electricity capacities to 100 gigawatts by 2030 (compared to 22.4, at the end of 2023).
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Shareholders once again validated the group’s climate strategy, with 79.7% approval – a significant drop, however, compared to the previous year (88.8%).
Demonstrations and arrests
During the hour of discussions between the CEO and the shareholders, a Ugandan speaker took the floor. In English, he deplored the environmental consequences of the Eacop project (for East African Crude Oil Pipeline), a giant oil pipeline project spanning more than 1,400 kilometers, across Uganda and Tanzania, involving expropriations in the event of disagreement. between the inhabitants and the hydrocarbon major. Patrick Pouyanné assured that he wanted “maintain the dialogue”.
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