TOTALENERGIES ET LES MARCHÉS FINANCIERS

The document analyzes TotalEnergies' reliance on the bond market, specifically highlighting a trend toward abnormally long maturities (up to 2064) that secures funding for decades of fossil fuel projects. It argues that these bonds provide the company with total freedom in fund allocation, enabling the expansion of oil and gas projects in 53 countries despite global climate goals. The briefing identifies a 'loophole' where banks facilitate these emissions to avoid having the debt on their own balance sheets, and warns investors of the systemic risk of 'stranded assets' as the world transitions to renewable energy.

• TotalEnergies is increasingly issuing bonds with abnormally long maturities, with recent 2024 emissions extending to 2034, 2054, and 2064. The average maturity of its bonds issued between 2020 and 2024 was 22 years, compared to 6 years for those issued between 2000 and 2004.
• Bonds represent a dominant source of external funding for TotalEnergies, accounting for 69.8% of its external financing between 2016 and 2023. This method is preferred over bank loans because it avoids 'diluting' capital and allows the company to access a broader pool of investors.
• The company utilizes 'hybrid bonds'—subordinated debt that can be counted as equity—to reduce transaction costs. In 2021 and 2022, 100% of TotalEnergies' bond issuances were hybrid.
• TotalEnergies' investment plans are inconsistent with the IEA Net Zero scenario; the company intends to allocate over 67% of its investments to oil and gas by 2030, with 30% specifically directed toward new fossil fuel projects by 2028.
• The company has expansion plans in 53 countries, including several that have little to no history of oil and gas production, such as Mozambique, Namibia, Uganda, Papua New Guinea, and Suriname. Specific projects facing local opposition include EACOP in Uganda and Papua LNG in Papua New Guinea.
• Over the next 40 years, TotalEnergies plans to launch new projects to extract 14 billion barrels of oil and gas, which would emit 5 billion tonnes of CO2e—approximately 13 times France's 2023 CO2 emissions.
• Financial institutions use bonds as a 'loophole' to support fossil fuel companies while claiming to meet climate commitments, as bond facilitation does not appear on a bank's balance sheet unlike direct loans. 51% of funding from major banks to the oil and gas sector over the last three years came from bonds.
• Major financial actors involved in TotalEnergies' 2024 bond issuances include banks such as Citi, HSBC, JP Morgan, and Société Générale, and investors including BlackRock, Vanguard, and Allianz.

APA

Bouhey, A., & Cuvelier, L. (2024). TOTALENERGIES ET LES MARCHÉS FINANCIERS. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TotalEnergies-et-les-marches-financiers.pdf

Chicago

Bouhey, Antoine, and Lara Cuvelier. TOTALENERGIES ET LES MARCHÉS FINANCIERS. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TotalEnergies-et-les-marches-financiers.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Bouhey |first1=Antoine |last2=Cuvelier |first2=Lara |title=TOTALENERGIES ET LES MARCHÉS FINANCIERS |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=September 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TotalEnergies-et-les-marches-financiers.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{bouhey2024totalenergies, author = {Bouhey, Antoine and Cuvelier, Lara}, title = {{TOTALENERGIES ET LES MARCHÉS FINANCIERS}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/TotalEnergies-et-les-marches-financiers.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }