Total S.A. is restructuring its downstream and chemicals operations to realign and focus on production and marketing, while remaining committed to its integrated structure, the company said in an Oct. 10 news release.

“We remain fully integrated, from oil and gas exploration to the manufacturing and sale of refined products and plastics,” said Christophe de Margerie, chairman and CEO of Total.

The new refining and chemicals division will be a production hub combining all of Total’s refining and petrochemical operations including specialty chemicals and fertilizers. This division will be headquartered in Brussels and Paris, with senior management based in Brussels.

The new supply and marketing division will be dedicated to the global supply and marketing of petroleum products.

Integrating Total’s refining and petrochemical operations, which employ similar industrial processes, has a two-fold objective: to strengthen Total’s production positions in Europe through increasing value of products and enhancing energy efficiency and reliability at production units, Total said.

It will also mean reliability at production units through joint management of major turnarounds and large-scale integrated projects for more effectively meeting demand in growth markets.

“It will also give our production and marketing activities a clearer vision, allowing them to improve their performance in mature markets and address specific challenges as they seek to expand, especially in growth markets,” de Margerie said.

He added that there will be no outplacement plan or layoffs as a result of the restructuring.

The new supply and marketing division will pursue growth in western Europe’s mature markets, and gain new positions in growth markets in Africa, the Middle East, the Asia-Pacific region, and North and South America.

All competencies, expertise, innovation capabilities and research and development resources will “remain under one umbrella,” Total stressed.

Total’s planned reorganization was presented to the Group’s European Works Council on Oct. 10.

Total S.A., based in Paris, France, employs 96,387 people with operations in more than 130 countries. Total is the fifth largest publicly-traded integrated international oil and gas company in the world. Total engages in all aspects of the petroleum industry, including upstream operations for oil and gas exploration, development and production, liquid natural gas, and downstream operations in refining, marketing and the trading and shipping of crude oil and petroleum products.