French Total Energies announced, on Monday, raising its share repurchase allocations for the fourth quarter to $2.5 billion, from $1.5 billion in previous quarters, benefiting from the rise in global energy prices and the improvement in oil and gas companies’ returns.
The company said that it also aims to buy back shares worth between $2 billion and $2.5 billion in the first quarter of 2027, in addition to increasing dividends by more than 5 percent annually until 2030.
In the context of its production plans, Total Energies expects oil and gas production to grow at a rate ranging between 2 and 3 percent annually, during the period from 2030 to 2035, confirming its previous goal of increasing average production by more than 3 percent annually until 2030.
The company's decisions come as it benefits this year from rising oil prices, improved trading activity results, and widening refining margins, while second-quarter profits recorded their highest levels in nearly three years.
Germany is heading into the winter with much lower natural gas reserves than usual, but it does not face an immediate threat to its supplies thanks to a broader and more flexible import portfolio than it was during the energy crisis in 2022, according to the CEO of the German gas import company VNG.
The filling rate of gas storage facilities in Germany is only about 57 percent, which is much lower than the European average, and represents the lowest historical level for this period of this September, which raises concerns about energy security in the largest European economy.
“Compared to 2022, the system has become much more robust overall, we have greater access to liquefied natural gas, and we have expanded our overall portfolio in terms of sources of supply,” Ulf Heitmüller, CEO of VNG, said in an interview with Reuters.
VNG, which is based in Leipzig and is majority owned by the energy company ENBW, bought 409 terawatt-hours of gas in 2025, becoming one of the largest gas importers in Germany. The company also operates gas pipeline networks and storage facilities.
VNG receives gas via pipelines from Norway, and has also concluded contracts to supply gas from Algeria and Azerbaijan, two suppliers whose importance to Europe has increased since the collapse of Russian gas supplies via pipelines following the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war.
“We designed our portfolio in a way that allows us to fulfill our obligations to our customers, even in the event of a cold winter,” Heitmuller said.
He explained that gas storage represents part of the system to ensure supply security, but it is not the only decisive factor.
He added that the loss of more import sources, a shortage in the global energy market, or infrastructure disruptions, especially if this coincides with colder weather, could lead to a sharp rise in gas prices during the winter.
European gas prices rose to more than double their levels since the beginning of the year, to about 75 euros per megawatt-hour, after the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in the midst of the war with Iran led to a reduction in global supplies of liquefied natural gas.
Last week, European Union Energy Commissioner Dan Jorgensen warned that the bloc is facing an energy price crisis this winter, and urged member states to continue their efforts to raise storage levels and reduce demand.
The German government rejected calls for direct intervention to increase the pumping of gas to storage facilities, but it supported issuing tenders to secure reserve supplies of gas for the first quarter of 2027.
Heitmuller welcomed this step, and considered that it provides incentives to store gas without causing market distortions.
He also supported plans under discussion in Berlin to create a strategic gas reserve. In order to protect against severe supply shocks that market mechanisms alone may be unable to deal with.
