TotalEnergies Board Agrees To Retain Patrick Pouyanné’

  The Board of Directors of TotalEnergies SE this week decided to call an ordinary meeting which will among other matters retain Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. There had been speculation that Patrick Pouyanné was about to leave at the top leadership at the French oil company.  

Patrick Pouyanné’s key projects in Africa include the Tilenga projects in the Albertine, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) in Uganda and Tanzania. Other projects are in Angola, Namibia, Mozambique, and lately South Africa.         

A statement issued on Thursday confirmed that the Board Of Directors met on March 13, 2024 under the chairmanship of Patrick Pouyanné, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer and that it decided to convene the Ordinary and Extraordinary Shareholders’ Meeting of the Company on Friday, May 24, 2024.       

Company Governance The directorships of Patrick Pouyanné, Jacques Aschenbroich, Glenn Hubbard as well as of Anne-Marie Idrac expire at the end of the Annual Shareholders' Meeting on May 24, 2024.       On September 21, 2023, the Board unanimously decided that the renewal of the mandate of Patrick Pouyanné. The decision will be proposed to the Shareholders’ Meeting on May 24, 2024.          

The Board also unanimously decided to propose the renewal of the mandate of Jacques Aschenbroich, who has held the position of Lead Independent Director since May 26, 2023.        

“While reaffirming its support to the quality and the relevance of the strategy implemented since 2020, the Board of Directors considers as appropriate to ensure the continuity of the Company’s governance and leadership,” said the statement.

Patrick Pouyanné played a pivotal role in leading to the resumption of oil and gas activities in Uganda. The projects in Tilenga had stalled following a failure by the Government of Uganda and the French Oil giant to agree on some of the oil-sharing agreements. TotalEnergies and the Joint venture partners in February 2022.   

Patrick Pouyanné, who has been at Totalenergies for ten years has according to the Board done an extraordinary job leading the company in a complex environment, delivering outstanding financial results, and engaging the Company in the energy transition more quickly and consistently than its peers.     

"The Board of Directors unanimously looks forward to his continued leadership and his strategic vision to continue TotalEnergies’ transition, with determination and consistency, relying on two pillars: Oil & gas on the one hand, Electricity and Renewables on the other hand. This vision, which creates value in the medium and long term, and this strategic stability are an asset and a differentiating factor for TotalEnergies compared with its peer,"

Furthermore, on the proposal of the Governance and Ethics Committee, the Board of Directors decided to submit to the Shareholders’ Meeting on May 24, 2024 the renewal for a period of three years of the directorships of Glenn Hubbard.

The statement said in light of her seniority on the Board of Directors, Anne-Marie Idrac will no longer be considered an independent director under the AFEP-MEDEF Code in May 2024 and therefore the renewal of her mandate will not be proposed.

“The Board of Directors thanks Mrs. Anne-Marie Idrac for her invaluable contribution, in particular within the Governance and Ethics Committee, the Compensation Committee and the Strategy & CSR Committee, from which it will continue to benefit until the end of her mandate,” said the statement.   

The Board of Directors also decided to propose to the Shareholders’ Meeting the appointment of Mrs. Marie-Ange Debon as a director for a three-year term. Opinion on the Sustainability & Climate – 2024 Progress Report

In the context of the resolution approved by shareholders in May 2023 concerning TotalEnergies' ambition for sustainable development and an energy transition towards carbon neutrality, the Board of Directors committed to report to shareholders on the progress made in implementing this ambition.        

“To this end, the Board of Directors approved the Company's Sustainability & Climate – 2024 Progress Report, which will be presented on March 21, 2024, and submitted to an advisory vote at the Shareholders’ Meeting on May 24, 2024,”         

The report sets out the implementation of the strategy and the progress made in 2023 with regard to the 2030 objectives. 

In particular, it reports on the results achieved in terms of reducing the Company's emissions and its contribution to a just, orderly and equitable energy transition for all of its stakeholders.