Energy & Commodities · French Guiana
—The refusal. TotalEnergies chief Patrick Pouyanné told French lawmakers on June 17 that the company will not drill new exploration wells off French Guiana.
—The timing. France’s parliament is weighing a bill to lift a 2017 law that bans oil exploration across French territory, including its overseas regions.
—The sunk cost. Total says it already spent close to four hundred million euros, around $460m, off French Guiana and found only non-commercial volumes.
—The geology. Pouyanné insists the rich Guyana-Suriname basin and the French Guiana basin are separate and unconnected, so neighbouring success proves nothing.
