CEO of French oil giant Total killed at Moscow airport

[Syt]

http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/21/us-russia-total-ceo-idUSKCN0I92HF20141021

Total CEO de Margerie killed in Moscow as jet hits snow plough

(Reuters) - The chief executive of French oil major Total, Christophe de Margerie, was killed when his private jet collided with a snow plough as it was taking off from Moscow's Vnukovo airport on Monday night.

De Margerie's death leaves a void at the top of one of the world's biggest listed oil firms at a difficult time for the industry as oil prices fall and state-backed competitors keep them out of some of the best oil exploration territory.

The collision occurred minutes before midnight Moscow time as de Margerie's Dassault Falcon jet was taking off for Paris.

Russia's Investigative Committee said the driver of the snow plough had been drunk and that a criminal investigation had been launched. The plane's three crew also died, said Total. The airport said visibility was 350 meters (1,150 feet) at the time of the crash.

Vnukovo is Moscow's oldest and third biggest airport. Located southwest of the capital, it is used by Russian President Vladimir Putin and other government officials.

De Margerie, 63, had attended a Russian government meeting on foreign investment in Gorki near Moscow on Monday.

With his distinctive bushy mustache and outspoken manner, he was one of the most recognizable of the world's top oil executives. Total is France's second-biggest listed company, with a market value of 102 billion euros.

"France is losing an extraordinary business leader who turned Total into a world giant," French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement. "France is losing a great industry captain and a patriot."

De Margerie was also a personal friend of French President Francois Hollande, who said he was "stunned and saddened" by the news. Accolades poured in from other French business leaders.

POTENTIAL SUCCESSORS

De Margerie became Total's CEO in 2007, taking on the additional role of chairman in May 2010, after previously running its exploration and production division.

He said in July that he should be judged on the new projects launched on his watch, including such as a string of African fields.

He also said then that Total would seek a successor from within the company. The company had not officially announced any succession plan, but said it would hold a board meeting as soon as possible.

Philippe Boisseau, head of Total's new energy division, and Patrick Pouyanne, who was charged with reducing exposure to unprofitable European refining sectors, have long been seen as potential successors.

Total's shares dipped as much as 2.3 percent on opening, but by 0740 GMT were barely changed at 42.88 euros. It was, however, still the weakest share price performance among the top European oil companies in early trading.

De Margerie was a staunch defender of Russia and its energy policies, as the conflict in Ukraine has raised tensions with the West to levels not seen since the Cold War, and triggered economic sanctions against Moscow.

He told Reuters in July that Europe should stop thinking about cutting its dependence on Russian gas and focus instead on making those deliveries safer.

He said tensions between the West and Russia were pushing Moscow closer to China, as illustrated by a $400 billion deal to supply Beijing with gas that was clinched in May.

"Are we going to build a new Berlin Wall?" he said. "Russia is a partner and we shouldn't waste time protecting ourselves from a neighbor ... What we are looking to do is not to be too dependent on any country, no matter which. Not from Russia, which has saved us on numerous occasions."

Total is one of the top foreign investors in Russia and also one of the oil majors most exposed to Russia, where its output is due to double by 2020.

Putin sent condolences, praising de Margerie's business skills and his commitment to "the cause of promoting bilateral Russian-French relations".

YAMAL PROJECT

Total said last month that sanctions would not stop it working on the Yamal project, a $27 billion joint venture to tap vast natural gas reserves in northwest Siberia that aims to double Russia's stake in the fast-growing market for liquefied natural gas. De Margerie said then that Europe could not live without Russian gas, adding there was no reason to do so.

Total is the fourth largest Western oil company by market value, behind Exxon, Royal Dutch Shell and Chevron. Russia accounted for about 9 percent of Total's oil and gas output in 2013.

Total forecast in April that Russia would become its biggest source of oil and gas by 2020 due to its partnership with Russian energy company Novatek and the Yamal project.

Like other big oil companies, Total has been under pressure from shareholders to cut costs and raise dividends as rising costs and weaker oil prices squeeze profitability.

It last month said it would step up asset sales and overhaul exploration after cutting its oil output targets.

Total, which has struggled with production outages in Libya, Kazakhstan and Nigeria, launched a "high-risk, high-reward" drilling strategy two years ago. But the high investment has not yielded any large discoveries.

Russia's air safety record is patchy at best.

In December 2012, a Russian airliner flying without passengers broke into pieces after it slid off the runway upon landing and crashed onto a highway outside Vnukovo Airport, killing four of the eight crew.

[Martinus]

"Are we going to build a new Berlin Wall?" he said. "Russia is a partner and we shouldn't waste time protecting ourselves from a neighbor ... What we are looking to do is not to be too dependent on any country, no matter which. Not from Russia, which has saved us on numerous occasions."

Ooops. 

[Syt]

Media here say that he was actually rather Putin friendly and saying that Europe won't can't and needn't live without Russian gas.

It might be a case of picking quotes out of context.

[celedhring]

Then, obviously that snow plow was put in there by the CIA.

EDIT: I'm reading that the snow plow driver has tested positive for alcohol. How cliché.

[grumbler]

Media here say that he was actually rather Putin friendly and saying that Europe won't can't and needn't live without Russian gas.

It might be a case of picking quotes out of context.

Mart's was a very Russian-friendly quote.

[Syt]

Yeah, I misread it at first as the emphasis being on "not wanting to be dependent on Russia."

[CountDeMoney]

It was: a total loss.

[Sheilbh]

RIP, obviously.

But what a tache

[Syt]

EDIT: I'm reading that the snow plow driver has tested positive for alcohol.

Or has he?

http://en.ria.ru/world/20141021/194381450/Snowplow-Driver-Sober-at-Time-of-Moscow-Plane-Crash-Killing.html

Snowplow Driver Sober at Time of Moscow Plane Crash Killing Total CEO: Lawyer

MOSCOW, October 21 (RIA Novosti) - The lawyer of a snowplow driver involved in the Monday night fatal plane crash killing the chief executive of French energy giant Total said his client was not drunk at the time of the incident, television channel RT reported Tuesday.

"My client is suffering from an acute heart condition; he does not drink at all and his relatives and friends can testify to that. He was sober at the time of the crash," Alexander Karabanov was quoted as saying by RT.

He added that several lawyers are to be involved in the defense of Vladimir Martynenko, a driver of the snowplow. "We don't want the blame for the accident to fall on an ordinary man," the attorney said.

A Falcon 50 business jet crashed late Monday night in the Vnukovo-3 Airport in Moscow after hitting a snow removal vehicle on takeoff. The aircraft was flying from Moscow to Paris with Total CEO Christophe de Margerie as the only passenger on board besides three crew members, also French citizens. All four died in the crash.

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's Investigative Committee said that the snowplow driver was drunk at the time of the accident.

Several lawyers to defend a snow plow driver? Wow.

[HVC]

From the thread title I thought he got assassinated.

[DGuller]

You have to be a special kind of a useful idiot to keep thinking that investing in Russia is a sound and morally defensible strategy.  A bit ironic that a Russian collaborator CEO got killed in classic Russian way.

[Syt]

From the thread title I thought he got assassinated.

[Neil]

You have to be a special kind of a useful idiot to keep thinking that investing in Russia is a sound and morally defensible strategy.  A bit ironic that a Russian collaborator CEO got killed in classic Russian way.

Is he really a useful idiot though?  After all, he's enriching himself.  Since he doesn't care about the situation any further than that, he's just utterly immoral.

[DGuller]

You have to be a special kind of a useful idiot to keep thinking that investing in Russia is a sound and morally defensible strategy.  A bit ironic that a Russian collaborator CEO got killed in classic Russian way.

Is he really a useful idiot though?  After all, he's enriching himself.  Since he doesn't care about the situation any further than that, he's just utterly immoral.

  Good point.  I did not consider the principal-agent problem in all of this.

[Malthus]

RIP, obviously.

But what a tache

He evidently took 'I am the walrus' as words to live by.