TotalEnergies CEO warns fuel price cap will end if refineries face surtax
In an interview with the French regional daily Sud Ouest on Monday, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné warned that maintaining the fuel price cap at the pump would be compromised if a new tax were to hit its refining operations. During the interview, he asserted that the oil giant 'is not going to apologize for performing and succeeding in its field.' 'On the contrary, we should be proud of it. There is no shame; it means the company is functioning well,' he emphasized.
On April 30, TotalEnergies announced it would maintain its fuel price capping initiative across its network of 3,300 service stations in France for as long as the crisis in the Middle East persists.
In a context where oil prices are appreciating daily, the price caps in effect since April 8 (gasoline at 1.99 euros/liter; diesel at 2.25 euros/liter) are being maintained for the month of May.
'In the event of a favorable trend in international prices, the Company commits to passing on any downward fluctuation in diesel and gasoline prices without delay,' the multinational specified.
During this month of May, traditionally conducive to road travel, TotalEnergies launched a special single-price operation for the May 1st, May 8th, and Ascension holiday weekends, with gasoline priced at 1.99 EUR/liter and diesel at 2.09 EUR/liter across its entire French network.
TotalEnergies Electricity & Gas customers in France enrolled in the 'fuel advantage' program benefit from a preferential cap of 1.99 EUR/liter, regardless of the fuel type, including on highways, throughout 2026. To date, 714,000 Electricity and Gas customers have requested to benefit from this fuel advantage.
The discount amount associated with this advantage is visible on the receipt following the transaction. This measure is also valid for all new residential customers who sign up for an electricity and/or gas contract with TotalEnergies.
'We decided on this cap ourselves at the start of the crisis,' Patrick Pouyanné stated, boasting of being 'the only oil company in the world to have taken such a decision.' Furthermore, the CEO noted that this measure could be revised 'in the event of a surtax on the company's refineries.'
Moreover, Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu had previously urged TotalEnergies to implement a price-limiting mechanism at the pump that is extremely favorable to consumers.
TotalEnergies SE is one of the leading worldwide oil groups. Net sales break down by activity as follows:
- refining and chemistry (43.3%): refining of petroleum products (operated, at the end of 2025, 14 refineries throughout the world) and manufacture of basic chemistry (olefins, aromatics, polyethylene, fertilizer, etc.) and of specialty chemistry (rubber, resins, adhesives, etc.). The group is also operating in trading and sea transport of crude oil and oil products;
- petroleum products distribution (39.1%): at the end of 2025 operated 12,775 service stations worldwide;
- electricity generation (9.7%): from combined cycle gas plants and renewable energies;
- gas production, trading, transport and distribution (5%): primarily liquefied natural gas (43.9 million tons sold in 2025), natural gas, biogas, hydrogen, liquefied petroleum gas, etc.;
- hydrocarbon operating and production (2.8%): 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent produced per day in 2025;
- other (0.1%).
Net sales are distributed geographically as follows: France (22.8%), Europe (45%), Africa (10%), North America (7.2%) and other (15%).
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