TotalEnergies raises share buyback targets as fuel prices drive profits (updated)

TotalEnergies SE

28/09/2026 07:49

Fourth-quarter share buybacks raised to $2.5 billion
Dividend to rise more than 5% per year through 2030
Annual production growth of 2% to 3% seen between 2030 and 2035
Adds CEO comments in paragraphs 4, 5, 7, 9, 10 , executive comment updates share price in final paragraph
By Dimitri  Rhodes
Sept 28 (Reuters) - TotalEnergies TTEF.PA raised its fourth-quarter share buyback programme on Monday to $2.5 billion from $1.5 billion in recent quarters and outlined faster production growth beyond 2030, reassuring investors despite geopolitical uncertainty.
The French energy major also said it would buy back between $2 billion and $2.5 billion of shares in the first quarter of 2027 and increase its dividend by more than 5% a year through 2030.
TotalEnergies has benefited this year from higher oil prices, strong trading results and wider refining margins linked to the Iran war, helping lift second-quarter earnings to their highest level in nearly three years.
While British rival BP BP.L suspended buybacks earlier this year to focus on debt reduction and investment, and Shell SHEL.L cut its quarterly buyback programme to $3 billion from $3.5 billion in May, CEO Patrick Pouyanne said TotalEnergies was in a position to increase annual shareholder returns.
"We need to catch up to ... something like $7.5 to $8 billion," he told analysts at a presentation in New York, adding that the increased buybacks would help deliver the company's target of returning 40% of cash flow to shareholders.
The group, which produces about 2.5 million barrels of oil equivalent per day, also forecast annual oil and gas production growth of 2% to 3% between 2030 and 2035, supported by projects nearing completion in Namibia, Nigeria, Malaysia, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea.
Pouyanne said the target was "achievable without speaking about big M&A", pushing back against analyst speculation that the company may need acquisitions to sustain growth. 
He also said TotalEnergies expected its post-dividend break-even oil price to fall to $35 a barrel from $50 previously.
Investors have increasingly focused on oil majors' project pipelines and resource bases beyond 2030 as they assess long-term growth prospects. TotalEnergies said its proved reserves equated to more than 12 years of production.
Pouyanne said he expected further oil discoveries in Suriname and saw scope to accelerate gas production in Mozambique through synergies with other projects in the country.
He also said he remained "optimistic" about developments in Namibia but did not provide an updated timeline for a final investment decision on the Venus project, which had previously been expected this summer.
TotalEnergies plans annual net investments of $14 billion to $17 billion between 2027 and 2032, up slightly from the $14 billion to $16 billion annually planned for 2026 to 2030.
The company expects to generate an additional $4 billion to $5 billion in operating cash flow between 2025 and 2030, Nicolas Terraz, president of exploration and production, said.
It also forecast a gearing ratio, which measures net debt as a percentage of equity, of below 10% by the end of 2026.
TotalEnergies shares rose as much as 1% in early trading but ended the session flat, underperforming a 1% gain in the broader European energy index .SXEP.

 (Reporting by Dimitri Rhodes in Gdansk. Additional reporting by Dominique Patton in Paris and Stephanie Kelly in London. Editing by Milla Nissi-Prussak and Mark Potter)
 ((Dimitri.Rhodes@thomsonreuters.com))