TotalEnergies CEO to Javier Milei: “We Want Our Money Back”

(Energy Analytics Institute, 31.Oct.2024) — TotalEnergies chairman and CEO Patrick Pouyanné told analysts during the company’s third-quarter 2024 (3Q:24) webcast that the French company wants its money in Argentina.

“Argentina is a specific country where you cannot repatriate dividends freely. So as long as it remains the same, as I explained to the Argentinian President [Javier Milei] when I met him last month, we want our money back,” Pouyanné said 31 Oct. 2024 during the company’s webcast with analysts, responding to a question around Argentina.

“So, we will not invest more as long as we don’t see the freedom to repatriate dividends,” Pouyanné said.

TotalEnegies is one of the leading gas operators in Argentina. The French company commenced operations there in 1978 and has over 1,100 employees in the South American country. 

TotalEnergies, through its subsidiary Total Austral, operates around 25% of Argentina’s production, according to details on the company’s website.

In Tierra del Fuego, TotalEnergies holds an interest in the Cuenca Marina Austral 1 (CMA-1) concession, where it operates six producing offshore gas fields (Hidra, Kaus, Carina, Aries, Vega Pléyade and Fénix) and the onshore facilities Ara-Cañadon and Rio Cullen.

In the Neuquén basin, TotalEnergies operates five blocks: Aguada Pichana Este, San Roque, Pampa de Las Yeguas, Rincón la Ceniza and La Escalonada.

Pouyanné said also said his company was managing its acreage “quite cautiously,”  

“We just recirculated Capex cash flow. We mainly produce gas. We have some acreage exactly like Exxon in the oil window which until now we did not develop,” Pouyanné said. “In fact, it’s a question of Capex. We know it’s a question mark by the way in our company to know if we move from allocating Capex more on the oil window and less on the gas. But that would require some investment. So, we are evaluating our fortunes.”

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By Pietro D. Pitts. © Energy Analytics Institute (EAI). All Rights Reserved.