He was a figure in French industry, as respected by his peers as he was criticized in his time by public opinion who criticized him for his coldness after the oil tanker oil spill. Erika in 1999 and the explosion of the AZF factory in Toulouse in 2001 – two disasters involving Total. Thierry Desmarest, victim of Alzheimer’s disease for ten years, died at the age of 78 on Tuesday January 9, reports World a source within the oil company.
Born on December 18, 1945, in Paris, the future boss of Total was a graduate of the Ecole Polytechnique and an engineer with the Corps of Mines. An X-Mines in the kingdom of oil, nothing more natural. As well as a first professional experience as director of mines and geology in New Caledonia (1971-1975), followed by a stint in ministerial cabinets, that of Michel d’Ornano in industry (1975-1978 ), then from René Monory to economics (1978-1980).
Thierry Desmarest will above all be the man of a company, Total, where he joined in 1981; and a sector, exploration-production (E&P), considered a noble activity by oilmen of the whole world. The group is then a lightweight in a world dominated by Anglo-Saxon companies. Boss of E&P since 1989, it is he who Serge Tchuruk, appointed head of Alcatel in 1995, will establish as his successor. A position of CEO that he held until 2007, before withdrawing into the presidency, then handing over to his designated successor, Christophe de Margerie, three years later.
“Little Prince of Black Gold”
Thierry Desmarest will remain the man who made Total a world-class company, now in the club of “supermajors” alongside ExxonMobil, Shell, Chevron and BP. He quickly understood that the race for critical size had become inevitable. Five years after his arrival at the top of the group, he bought the Belgian Fina, following a friendly operation. And, a few months later, its French competitor Elf Aquitaine. The hussar, this time. Thierry Desmaret is overtaking Philippe Jaffré, whom the entire business community in Paris nevertheless saw as a predator rather than a prey.
The time has now come for mega-mergers in the world of hydrocarbons, with the Exxon-Mobil, BP-Amoco and Chevron-Texaco marriages, which have become very powerful Big Oils in a world where the cost of investments in black gold is becoming exorbitant. The Total-Elf affair is going smoothly, and the merger of their respective cultures takes a few years. Renamed TotalEnergies in 2021, it is today the leading French company by turnover. But also the most violently criticized by environmental defenders, who urge it to accelerate its exit from fossil fuels.
You have 50% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.