L’élection présidentielle américaine de 2024 pourrait provoquer un choc majeur en matière d’énergie, selon le PDG de TotalEnergies

PARIS (Reuters) – The 2024 US presidential election would cause a major shock in energy if the Republicans were to win and decide to stop US hydrocarbon exports, said TotalEnergies CEO on Saturday.

Speaking at the Aix-en-Provence Economic Forum, Patrick Pouyanné emphasized that his company is the leading exporter of US liquefied natural gas (LNG), which Europe increasingly relies on to compensate for the collapse of its Russian gas imports due to the war in Ukraine.

“The only thing that could happen, which is a major systemic risk, is that the Republicans decide to no longer export […]. Moreover, I’m not sure if it would come from gas, it could come from oil one day,” said the CEO.

“The Americans steer their entire policy based on domestic gas or oil prices, they have resources, and if they feel that exports are driving their prices up, they will block us. Well, I can tell you that if, on top of the Russians, we no longer have American gas and oil, it’s not just a shock, it’s a super shock,” he added.

“In that regard, the election can be important, but it is not the president who decides in the end, it is the private actors.”

Patrick Pouyanné also stated that he expects a “sustainably high” barrel price due to the energy transition and the decline in oil investments.

(Report by Benjamin Mallet)