TotalEnergies extends fuel cap in France throughout June
Drivers will benefit from current cap at all stations for at least a further month
The service station giant will provide further diesel price drops on Mother’s Day and Father’s Day
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French service station giant TotalEnergies will extend its current fuel cap into June, the company has announced.
All drivers will be able to benefit from a cap of €1.99 per litre of petrol and €2.25 per litre of diesel at any TotalEnergies service station until June 30.
However, on the weekends of Mother’s Day (May 30 - 31) and Father’s Day (June 20 - 21), an additional cap will be in place, reducing diesel costs to €2.09 per litre.
This mirrors the additional decreases offered during May across public holiday weekends.
Drivers who have a gas or electricity contract with TotalEnergies benefit from a flat €1.99 per litre cap on all fuels.
The cap is now generally more advantageous to drivers of petrol vehicles, with the average price per litre of petrol in France now above €2 (around €2.13 for SP98, and €2.09 for SP95).
In contrast, average diesel (gazole) prices are around €2.11 per litre, cheaper than the incoming cap.
During the May promotional weekends where TotalEnergies ran an additional fuel cap scheme, the company increased its market share by around 30%.
However, drivers are using their cars around 15% less due to higher fuel costs.
Earlier this week, the government announced fuel aid for high-mileage drivers.
How long will cap last?
The fuel cap was first introduced in April, but it is unclear how long it will continue.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné has previously threatened to cancel the scheme, following criticism of the company’s profits so far this year.
Regardless, he is also unsure how long the scheme can last, if the Strait or Hormuz continues to remain blocked.
“There will be no shortages in France. But there is a battle for volume in a market that is now producing only 90 million barrels per day instead of 100. And this battle is driving up the price, which is the price of security of supply,” he said to Le Figaro.
“But this ‘no shortage’ will come at a price, let’s be clear,” he added.
“We are at the limits of what is possible: we cannot sustainably consume 10 to 12 million barrels per day from stocks that have already decreased by 1 billion barrels since the beginning of the conflict.”
“In this new world, there is a shortage of oil, and this creates immense tension that is reflected in prices because we have to share an ‘insufficient’ resource.”
TotalEnergies is resilient to the current economic issues facing many other suppliers as they have recently diversified supply chains, said Mr Pouyanné.
“In ten years, we have lowered the company's break-even point from $80 per barrel to $25. Managing a commodities business is all about this: being able to withstand market downturns and capitalise on them when they're up. It's a considerable undertaking,” he said.
However, he added that oil “does not fall from the sky,” and the company must consider long-term strategies.
This includes ensuring that refineries in France receive the goods they need to produce key fuels – including kerosene – domestically.
“I am pleased to hear that in France, the value of a major French oil and gas company is being rediscovered,” he added, although he said calls to nationalise the industry were not sensible.
“Our refining business has been posting losses for three years now. If the idea is to nationalise it when it's profitable and privatize the losses, I'm afraid that won't work.”
