Tributes were paid yesterday to the the boss of French oil giant Total after a fatal accident in Moscow.
Christophe de Margerie, chairman and chief executive, was killed when his private jet collided with a snow plough as it was taking off from Moscow’s Vnukovo airport on Monday night.
The collision occurred minutes before midnight Moscow time as de Margerie’s Dassault Falcon jet was taking off for Paris.
Russia’s Investigative Committee said the driver of the snow plough had been drunk and that a criminal investigation had been launched. The plane’s three crew also died.
In a statement, trade body Oil & Gas UK, said: “The death of Christophe de Margerie comes as a shock and a heavy blow for the whole of our industry.
“Oil & Gas UK sends its deepest condolences to the family of Mr de Margerie, and those of the crew members who also lost their lives. Our thoughts are with our friends and colleagues at Total.”
The firm, which employs over 600 in Aberdeen at its UK division, also paid tribute to its fallen leader.
In a statement, Jean-Jacques Guilbaud, Total’s Chief Administrative Officer, said: “Total’s employees are deeply appreciative of the support and sympathy received, both in France and in the many countries where Christophe de Margerie was admired and respected.
“Mr de Margerie devoted his life to building and promoting Total in France and internationally. He was equally devoted to Total’s 100,000 employees. As he would have wished, the company must continue to move forward.
“Total is organised to ensure the continuity of both its governance and its business, allowing it to manage the consequences of this tragic loss.”
Tatyana Morozova, an official with the Investigative Committee, Russia’s main investigative agency, said investigators are questioning the snowplough driver, who was not hurt, as well as air traffic controllers and witnesses.
Mr de Margerie, 63, was a regular fixture at international economic gatherings and one of the French business community’s most outspoken and recognisable figures. His trademark silver handlebar earned him the nickname Big Moustache.
A critic of sanctions against Russia, he argued that isolating Russia was bad for the global economy.
According to the Kremlin, President Putin sent a telegram to his French counterpart Francois Hollande, lauding Mr de Margerie for being at the “origins of the many major joint projects that have laid the basis for the fruitful co-operation between Russia and France in the energy sphere for many years”.
Mr Hollande expressed his “stupor and sadness” at the news. In a statement, he praised Mr de Margerie for defending French industry on the global stage, and for his “independent character and original personality”.
Mr de Margerie started working for Total in 1974. He rose through the ranks, serving in several positions in the finance department and the exploration and production division before becoming Chief Executive in 2007, then adding the post of chairman in 2010.
Under his leadership, Paris-based Total became the fifth-largest publicly traded integrated international oil and gas company in the world, with exploration and production operations in more than 50 countries.
On Monday, Mr de Margerie took part in a meeting of Russia’s Foreign Investment Advisory Council with members of Russia’s government and other international business executives.
Total planned a minute of silence in its offices worldwide at 2pm Paris time yesterday.
Mr De Margerie’s death leaves a void at the top of one of the world’s biggest listed oil firms at a difficult time for the industry as oil prices fall and state-backed competitors keep them out of some of the best oil exploration territory.
“France is losing an extraordinary business leader who turned Total into a world giant,” French Prime Minister Manuel Valls said in a statement. “France is losing a great industry captain and a patriot.”
Total recently relaunched plans to develop the £340million Edradour project, 34 miles north-west of Shetland.