By David Gauthier-Villars
PARIS--French oil company Total SA said Chairman and Chief
Executive Christophe de Margerie died Monday in a plane crash at a
Russian airport.
The French executive, who enjoyed close relations with numerous
world leaders, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, was 63
years old.
Mr. de Margerie and the three crew members on board were killed
when their Falcon 50 business jet gathered speed to take off at
Moscow's Vnukovo airport amid low visibility, and ran into a
snow-removal truck maneuvering on the runway, according to airport
authorities.
A Total spokeswoman said Mr. de Margerie was in Moscow to attend
a gathering of the Russian government's foreign investment advisory
council.
Mr. de Margerie's sudden death opens a period of uncertainty at
Total, one of France's largest companies, which had no obvious
succession plan in place. In May, Total shareholders had approved a
resolution increasing the age cap for its CEO to 67 from 65,
potentially allowing Mr. de Margerie to remain at the oil company
through 2018.
A bon vivant who confessed to enjoying reality shows, the
blue-blooded Mr. de Margerie devoted his life to the oil industry,
following a simple motto: "Go where the oil is."
Born into a family that owns part of the Taittinger champagne
house, his relatives joked about how he could have become "king of
brut," but had preferred to become "king of crude."
Mr. de Margerie joined Total's finance department in 1974 after
studying business. He worked for the oil-trading arm from 1990 to
1995. In January 2002, he became head of the group's core
exploration and production division, a position often regarded as a
necessary step to the CEO post.
Known as "Big Mustache" for his bushy handlebar, Mr. de Margerie
relentlessly hopscotched the globe to promote his oil firm.
At a meeting in Moscow with Mr. Putin in 2009, the executive
described the talks that led to a partnership with a tough Russian
counterpart.
"He's a terrifying man to negotiate with," Mr. de Margerie said
of the Russian partner, according to minutes of the meeting.
"You've just complimented him," Mr. Putin replied.
On Tuesday Mr. Putin sent a telegram to French counterpart
Francois Hollande expressing condolences and calling Mr. de
Margerie "a true friend of our country."
Total owns a stake in Russia's second-largest gas firm OAO
Novatek and the companies are working on a liquefied-natural gas
project in Russia's Arctic. Novatek is co-owned by Gennady
Timchenko, a friend of Mr. Putin.
Russian investigators said Tuesday that the plane carrying Mr.
de Margerie hit a snow-removal vehicle whose driver was drunk.
Russia's Investigative Committee said in a statement that the plane
was taking off at around 23:57 local time, when it grazed the
vehicle, caught fire and crashed into the runway.
The investigation is focusing on whether a mistake was made by
the traffic controller or the snow-removal truck driver, the
committee said. Investigators are also checking to see if bad
weather or pilot error was to blame, it said.
The committee said it had established that the truck driver was
under the influence of alcoholic.
The French air accident bureau said that it is sending a team of
air accident investigators to help with the probe into the
crash.
Paying tribute to Mr. de Margerie, France's Prime Minister
Manuel Valls said the country had lost a "great industrial
captain."
"France is losing a company chief out of the ordinary who knew
how to transform Total into a global giant," Mr. Valls said,
expressing his "profound sadness" over the death and the loss of "a
friend."
Gregory L. White
and James Marson in Moscow and Ruth Bender in Paris contributed
to this article.
Write to David Gauthier-Villars at
David.Gauthier-Villars@wsj.com
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