Total plans drastic cuts in investment after 2014 results

French oil giant Total on Thursday announced drastic cuts after its net profit plunged in 2014 due to a dramatic fall in crude prices.
Total reported a 62 percent fall in net profit to $4.24 billion last year compared with a year earlier, while revenue dropped 6.0 percent to $236.12 billion, the group said in a statement.
The market-watched net adjusted profit, which excludes volatile elements, fell 10 percent to $12.84 billion, after "oil prices fell dramatically in the second half of 2014, ending the year at $55 per barrel," the statement said.
The group had a $7.1 billion writedown in its oil sands in Canada and shale oil operations in the United States, which will now undergo a restructuring.
With weaker oil demand and prices, Total plans to cut its investments by more than 10 percent, including in its North Sea and West Africa operations, and to reduce its workforce by 2,000 people mainly through a hiring freeze.
The group still plans to increase production this year to just over 2.3 million barrels per day compared with 2.15 million bpd in 2014.