TotalEnergies SE’s oil trading profits doubled to about $1 billion in the first quarter as the energy giant went on a crude buying spree in the run-up to the Iran war, Chief Executive Officer Patrick Pouyanné said.
“This quarter, rather than making 500 million, they made 500 million more,” Pouyanné said at a Parliament hearing in Paris on Wednesday, referring to typical quarterly trading gains of roughly half a billion dollars. “That won’t be replicated all quarters.”
Total traders stepped up oil purchases as the US Navy gathered ships near the Strait of Hormuz in February, and they were able to get barrels out of the Persian Gulf after the conflict erupted through the Fujairah hub outside the chokepoint, the CEO said. To balance their positions, they also had to make some money-losing wagers, he added.
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The oil major’s net earnings jumped almost 30% in the first quarter, largely due to war-driven gains, leading to public backlash in France as households and businesses grappled with a surge in energy prices triggered by the conflict. His comments on Wednesday were made before lawmakers who questioned and sometimes criticized the profits.
The strong performance of Total’s trading arm, which embarked on one of the biggest-ever races to buy Middle Eastern oil, was one of many cases of outsized profits resulting from crude market dislocations triggered by the Iran war.
Total’s profit in the second quarter will probably be even higher than in the first as the crisis persisted, Pouyanné said. A price cap that Total introduced at its service stations in France has cost the company about €200 million ($232 million) so far, he added.
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