By Julianne Geiger – Sep 16, 2023, 4:00 PM CDT
- French Finance Minister Le Maire questions excessive refining margins and ponders insurance policies to curb extreme earnings within the downstream sector.
- Le Maire: Windfall taxes are a technique France might assist alleviate the ache of excessive costs for customers.
- Earlier this week, Le Maire stated the inflation burden have to be shared as he welcomed TotalEnergies’s Tuesday resolution to maintain a cap on gas costs past the tip of the yr.
France has “questions” about refining margins, and selections may very well be made to curb extreme earnings, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire advised journalists on Thursday.
Inflation has been a priority throughout Europe, and the French authorities has taken strides to decrease the price of primary items and companies comparable to meals and transport.
Windfall taxes are a technique France might assist alleviate the ache of excessive costs for customers, Le Maire stated.
“With (Vitality Minister) Agnes Pannier-Runacher, I’ll increase the problem of excessive margins with the financial actors in query and take selections to keep away from extreme earnings on this sector as in others,” Le Maire stated on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Le Maire stated the inflation burden have to be shared as he welcomed TotalEnergies’s Tuesday resolution to maintain a cap on gas costs past the tip of the yr, and urged different firms to rein in costs to maintain the price of dwelling down. Complete stated it will lengthen the cap gas costs at 1.99 euro per litre past the tip of the yr “so long as costs stay excessive.”
Le Maire famous that based on officers from oil-producing international locations he had spoken to final week on the G20 summit, it regarded like Saudi Arabia had each intention of constant to restrict its crude oil output.
In September final yr, the Council of the European Union agreed to impose a temporary windfall tax on vitality firms that notice “above a 20% enhance of the typical yearly taxable earnings since 2018,” on high of no matter taxes these firms already personal of their particular person international locations.
In March of this yr, ExxonMobil announced its disappointment with the windfall tax pattern, saying it will check out its position in Europe in gentle of the brand new taxes on earnings. On the time, Exxon likened Europe’s windfall tax craze because the stick, and the USA’ Inflation Discount Act because the carrot because the oil supermajor created a brand new clear vitality enterprise enterprise in the USA.
ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit in opposition to the EU over the 33% windfall tax in December after claiming that the windfall tax might value the corporate $2 billion in 2023, and introduced that whether or not Exxon invests in Europe is determined by how enticing and globally aggressive Europe might be.
By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com
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