Total is hoping to pitch an important solar project to Saudi Arabia as part of a Franco-Saudi initiative launched during a recent visit by French President Francois Hollande to the kingdom, CEO Patrick Pouyanne tells MEES.

Apart from the recent massive investment Total made in the UAE when it paid more than $2bn for a 10% stake in a cluster of onshore fields, Mr Pouyanne sees few bright spots in the Middle East at the present time. Never, he says, has he seen the region in such turmoil. (CONTINUED - 2018 WORDS)