Expert from Total Spoke on the Philosophy of Oil and Business
At the International Institute of Administration and Business, Christian Gueritte of the Total Professors Association gave a masterclass on Oil and Gas and Global Energy Issues.Total has been operating in Russia since 1991 and is one of the key partners of Russian oil and gas companies in the exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
The expertise and experience accumulated by the company, which was founded in the mid-1920s, are as valuable as the operations on oil and gas deposits across the globe. This is why the Total Professors Association was founded in 2001 to organise the transfer of experience acquired by professionals in one of the world’s leading oil and gas companies to students at partner universities and organisations. The Association has more than 250 specialists who teach more than 400 courses in 110 disciplines. They run courses in English in 38 countries around the world.
Christian Gueritte has worked at Total since 1975, when he started his career as an economist. From 1990 to 1995 Gueritte was the company’s vice president for operations in Russia and CIS. During that period he participated in meetings with Mikhail Gorbachev and Boris Yeltsin. Total was a vital part of the development of the Russian oil and gas industry: it offered its technologies and equipment to Russian experts and didn’t keep its business philosophy a secret.
After working in Russia, Christian Gueritte successfully headed other Total divisions in the world, and most notably, until 2009 he was the company’s managing director in the Netherlands. Today Christian Gueritte is in demand around the world: he came to Moscow after a lecture in China, and several other public talks are planned for the remainder of this year. At HSE, Christian Gueritte spoke as part of the Master in European Business (МЕВ) programme, which is run by the International Institute of Administration and Business with the participation of international companies included in the IIAB Expert and Supervisory Board.
The Master in European Business (МЕВ) programme was founded at ESCP Europe in 1995 and operates in nine countries (France, Great Britain, Italy, Spain, Germany, Russia, Mexico, Thailand, and India). The programme aims to develop the practical skills of management in an international team and cross-cultural environment. MEB graduates receive two diplomas: a Master in European Business diploma from ESCP Europe, and a HSE diploma of professional retraining. Learn more about the programme.
Christian Gueritte spoke on various issues related to the energy industry, from the principles of work on modern drilling rigs to the development prospects of renewable energy sources, shale gas extraction, and probable replacements for traditional oil and gas.
The main sources of energy today in the world are oil and gas. Renewables like solar cells are a very small percentage of overall energy production. Christian Gueritte believes their share will grow but in the foreseeable future (up to 2030) it will remain very much a minority source. Total supports projects on the exploration and development of renewable sources of energy, including biomass.
Christian Gueritte went into detail about shale gas extraction, a process which is developing fast in the US. He thinks that in the near future the US could begin exporting shale gas and oil - which will be a factor to contend with in making decisions about the development of the energy sector.
Christian Gueritte also said that he doesn’t believe oil prices will fall to $30 a barrel. He thinks that at some stage prices will begin to go up again although he wasn’t prepared to say exactly when.
The expert also emphasized the demographic growth of the world’s population as by 2035 the global population is expected to have grown to 8.5 billion. This is a serious challenge for researchers, businesspeople and politicians – to avoid a global energy crisis in 20 or 25 years and to provide the whole population with access to energy sources.
Photos by Mikhail Dmitriev
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