Total Takes $6.5B Impairment, Cuts Costs To Counter Weak Oil

"We consider that after having spent a lot of money in exploration in the last three years without the results we expected, it was preferable that exploration teams be put under a certain pressure, that they get forced to make choices," Pouyanne told reporters.

The group will announce details of the new exploration strategy in September this year.

2,000 Jobs To Go

Like its peers, Total maintained its shareholder payouts with a fourth-quarter dividend of 0.61 euros a share.

It also expects to sell $5 billion in assets this year.

Total had to write down projects such as the Utica shale gas venture in the United States, Fort Hills and Joslyn in Canadian oil sands but also the giant Kashagan project in Kazakhstan.

In Britain, the group will halve the production capacity of its Lindsey refinery, which it failed to sell, and cut 180 jobs, with a plan for the French refining sector set to be announced in the spring.