Total will not invest in Areva
"After consideration, we will not invest in Areva" reveals Christophe Margerie, CEO and future chairman of Total, in an interview with the first edition of the Journal du Dimanche. After the failure in late December of invitation supply in Abu Dhabi to build two nuclear reactors, which were project stakeholders EDF, Areva, GDF Suez but also Total oil group maintains its draft into nuclear power. But without investment in Areva, whose strategy is now under threat.
"Those who think we lost because of poor organization Franco-French are wrong. (…) Can we make the EPR cheaper without sacrificing safety? This is the real issue "said Christophe Margerie.The EPR French would indeed be 40% more expensive than the South Korean model finally selected by Abu Dhabi.
Needs huge
So as an investor-operator and Total says it wants to enter the nuclear market. In this context, "we want to set up projects with Areva, but we do not exclude mounting other international partnerships," said the CEO.
Asked about the economic outlook for his group in 2010, Christophe de Margerie also appears optimistic. Satisfied with the signing of two important contracts in natural gas, the United States and Algeria, he anticipates the needs of huge new countries: India, China, Middle East and Africa.
