Total must cut more European refining capacity

French oil major Total SA has no choice but to keep cutting refining capacity in Europe, especially France, as demand for refined petroleum products continues to fall in the region, Michel Benezit, the group’s head of refining and marketing, said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires. “We must keep adjusting to falling demand,” Benezit said, without specifying where and in what way Total will trim its refining capacity. Total Chief Financial Officer Patrick de la Chevardiere told the newswire service that the company had been losing around 100 million euros (US$137.05 million) a month on its European refining activities. Total’s European refining margin indicator–a profit calculation for refining a ton of crude oil at a hypothetical complex refinery in Northwest Europe–fell more than 70% year-on-year to US$11.70 a ton in the fourth quarter of 2009. (February 2, 2010)