TotalEnergies post a profit of $21.4 billion, its highest in history  

TotalEnergies announced its 2023 earnings which was the highest in the company’s history, supported by the success of its power and liquefied natural gas businesses. 

With a $21.4 billion net profit, the company increased its profits by 4% from 2022. The French energy giant outperformed its international competitors Shell, BP, Exxonmobil, and Chevron, all of whom reported lower profitability despite reduced energy prices, in terms of its bottom line. 

However, TotalEnergies’s $15 billion extraordinary charge from its departure from Russia in response to that nation’s invasion of Ukraine severely hurt the company’s net earnings for 2022. 

Last year’s profits saw a severe decline once non-recurring events were subtracted; adjusted net profit dropped 36% to $23.2 billion. 

Prices for gas and oil fell by almost 10% on average last year compared to 2022, when rising oil prices had increased profits for energy corporations across the world. In a statement, Chairman Patrick Pouyanne referred to the outcomes as “robust” and noted that they were obtained in “an uncertain environment.” He stated that hydrocarbons had done well. 

Nevertheless, the 2023 net profit amount was below the expectations of financial analysts, who were expecting a value as high as $23.7 billion. 

Although TotalEnergies has explored diversification to provide power with a lower carbon footprint, environmental organizations criticize the company for its continued usage of fossil fuels due to their influence on the climate. 

The group declared in September that in five years, it will raise hydrocarbon production by two to three percent annually. The French Oil major is facing several court lawsuits, including ones over its land acquisition methods for contentious projects in Tanzania and Uganda that have drawn criticism from environmental groups. 

TotalEnergies is making progress with its Tilenga drilling project in Uganda and the 1,443-kilometer (897-mile) East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to deliver crude to Tanzania’s coast. 

Tilenga is going after oil, and its plans to dig 419 wells beneath the Murchison Falls National Reserve in western Uganda have worried residents and environmentalists about the area’s delicate ecology.