Total S.A.
Total SA (, ) is a French oil company headquartered in
Paris,
France. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from
crude oil and
natural gas exploration and production to
power generation,
transportation,
refining,
petroleum product marketing, and international crude oil and product trading. Total is also a large-scale
chemicals manufacturer. It is one of the four oil "
supermajors" in existance today, along with the
Shell,
BP, and
ExxonMobil companies.
Total was founded on
March 28,
1924 as the
Compagnie française des pétroles (CFP), literally the "French Company of Petroleums". The company was created on the initiative of the French government in order to become the national petroleum company of France. Petroleum was seen as vital in the case of a new war with Germany. However, the company was from the start a
private sector company (it was listed on the
Paris Stock Exchange for the first time in
1929). The
Compagnie française des pétroles received the 23.75% share (previously owned by the
Deutsche Bank) in the Turkish Petroleum Company (renamed
Iraq Petroleum Company in 1929) that had been given to France in
1920 (
Sanremo conference) in compensation for war damage caused by Germany during
World War I.
In
1985 the company was renamed
Total CFP. In 1991 the company name became simply
Total. After Total's
takeover of
Belgian Petrofina in
1999, it became known as
Total Fina. Afterwards it also acquired the French
Elf Aquitaine. First named
TotalFinaElf after the merger in
2000, it was later renamed back to
Total in
2003.
Total operates in more than 130 countries and has over 111,000 employees.
*
Upstream**Oil & gas production/exploration
**Gas & power
*
Downstream**Refining & marketing
**Trading & shipping
*
Chemicals**Arkema
**Total Petrochemicals
**Fertilizers
**Resins, adhesives and electroplating
***Cray Valley
***Sartomer
***Cook Composites & Polymers
***Atotech
***
Bostik **Elastomer Processing
The
AZF chemical plant which exploded in 2001 in
Toulouse, France, belonged to the
Grande Paroisse branch of Total.
Oil for Food
Total won contracts with
Saddam Hussein's regime to develop the
Majnoon and
Nahr Umar oil fields in southern
Iraq, consisting of 25% of Iraq's oil reserves.
Burma
Although Total does maintain a
"socially responsible investment" program, there has been recent controversy over its corporate involvement in
Burma (also known as
Myanmar) despite recent
European Union sanctions on new
investment in the country due to its poor
human rights record.
Democratic activists have accused Total of propping up that country's brutal
military junta.
These activist groups, which include
Europe's largest Burma
lobbying group,
Burma Campaign UK, and the Burmese Democratic Movement Association, point out that Total is currently involved in a
joint venture with the military regime developing an
offshore gas field in the
Andaman Sea. The gas is exported to
Thailand through a
pipeline that travels 65 kilometres through Burma. Total is one of the biggest
foreign investors in Burma. The Burmese government in exile also criticises Total for allegedly funding rape, murder and genocide in Burma, as a result of hiring members of the military to guard their pipeline.
Total has been taken to court by six Burmese people who claimed they were used as
forced labour in the preparation of Total's pipeline in Burma. Total settled the case in 2005.In 2005 a 14 year old girl was allegedly gang raped by fourteen members of the Burmese army employed by Total to guard their pipeline. Many activists feel Total has not taken adequate steps to bring those responsible to account.
At a recent meeting of the company's small
shareholders in
France,
activist groups called for Total to cease its operations inside
Burma, but the company has refused to budge on the issue, despite urging from activists
and independent
financial advisors.
The regime benefits from Total's investment and thus, Total's involvement in Burma is branded by democratic activists as a major factor propping up the regime and perpetuating its brutal and
illegitimate rule.
The construction of the
Yadana pipeline has led to environmental devastation, while revenues from Total's investment in Burma fuel purchases by Burma's dictator,
Than Shwe, to increase weapons supplies.
Burma's democracy movement, led by 1991
Nobel Peace Prize recipient
Aung San Suu Kyi, has called on companies to leave Burma until the ruling dictator agrees to participate in a transition to democracy. Suu Kyi, the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient, has strongly criticized Total's deal with Burma's military regime, stating: "Total has become the main supporter of the Burmese military regime."
On February 3rd 2006 an International Day of Action Against Total was held. Protests in at least 15 countries worldwide, including the Netherlands, France, UK, Germany, Belgium, Austria, Romania, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Switzerland, Ireland, Australia, Thailand and the USA, and a formal request was made by the independent Burmese trade union FTUB to TOTAL Oil to pull out of Burma. The Burmese governemnt in exile (democratically elected by the majority of people in Burma) supported the day.
See also: US Campaign for Burma,
Burma Campaign UK,
Boycott Total Oil,
Official Total ResponseGermany
After taking over
Elf Aquitaine, Total inherited a broad range of controversial and ongoing issues, including about 2550
Minol sites (projection from 400 in Thuringia) all over the former East Germany, the transfer of which had been the subject of tens of millions of dollars worth of
bribes. The property transfer had also involved the
Leuna refinery. In Germany the
Leuna scandal was also called the "Chancellor Scandal" because it apparently implicated the former Chancellor
Helmut Kohl. See:
Leuna ScandalThe headquarters of TotalFinaElf were free-climbed in February 2003 by
"Spiderman" Alain Robert, in protest of the American-led
invasion of Iraq.
*
Total*
Burma Campaign*
Boycott Total Oil
