TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné (left) and United States Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum at CERAWeek in Houston, Texas, on March 23, 2026. RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP
First, two offshore wind projects canceled. Then, instead of these low-carbon electricity projects, nearly $1 billion (about €860 million) to invest in gas and oil production. That is how TotalEnergies announced it would comply with the wishes of the US administration. On Monday, March 23, the French energy giant said it was "ending the development" of its two offshore wind programs in the United States, one off the coast of New York and New Jersey, the other off the coast of North Carolina. The decision was made public in a press release issued on the opening day of the 2026 CERAWeek, a major oil and gas industry event in Texas.
TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné, who was at the event, described the move as a "win-win agreement" with US President Donald Trump's administration, according to Agence France-Presse. "A landmark agreement," the Department of the Interior (DOI, a US government department responsible for land and natural resources, with no equivalent in France) wrote in a separate press release. This deal aligns with Trump's energy policy, which has consistently sought to slow the rollout of renewables while encouraging domestic hydrocarbon extraction – an activity that is a major driver of climate change.
