Total to strengthen resilience after de Margerie's death

The new chief executive officer at French energy company Total said Wednesday he'd work to cut costs and increase value as crude oil prices slip.

Total tapped former refining director Patrick Pouyanne to take over as CEO after the death of Christophe de Margerie in a mid-October plane crash in Moscow.

Pouyanne in a statement said it was his responsibility to "forge ahead" with de Margerie's plan to make Total one of the strongest companies of its kind in the world.

"The recent decrease in the price of Brent highlights the importance of the programs we launched to reduce costs and control investments to strengthen the resilience of the group," he said in a statement.

Crude oil prices have shed about 20 percent of their value since June. Brent crude oil prices, however, are showing signs of recovery toward the $90 per barrel mark for the September 2015 contract.

Gross sales for third quarter 2014 for the French company were down 2 percent compared with last year. Net income, however, was up 10 percent year-on-year.

Full quarter hydrocarbon production for Total was 8 percent less than during third quarter 2014.

Total share prices in early Wednesday trading were up 2.6 percent.