Elf Aquitaine
Encyclopedia
Elf Aquitaine was a French
oil
company which merged with TotalFina to form TotalFinaElf. The new company changed its name to Total
in 2003. Elf has been maintained as a major brand of Total.
region of south-western France.
In December 1965 RAP and BRP were merged to form Entreprise de Recherches et d'Activités Pétrolières (ERAP). ERAP had SNPA, Union Générale des Pétroles (UGP), and Union Industrielle des Pétroles (UIP) as subsidiaries. The resulting company achieved vertical integration
, owning assets in all phases of the petrol business from exploration and production to the filling station
.
On April 28, 1967 the company's disparate brands and products were unified under the Elf brand, Essence et Lubrifiants de France (France Gasoline and Lubricants).
Elf was the first company to pioneer a total synthetic racing oil.
In 1976 Elf-ERAP merged with Antar Pétroles de l'Atlantique
and became Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (SNEA), later Elf Aquitaine. Elf Aquitaine was listed on the NYSE in 1991. In 1993 Elf was awarded the exclusive contract to the Iraqi Oil Fields by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
. In 1996 the French government sold its stake, retaining a Golden Share
. In 2000 Elf Aquitaine merged with Total Fina to form TotalFinaElf, which changed its name to Total
in 2003.
, 'the biggest fraud inquiry in Europe since the Second World War... Elf became a private bank for executives who spent £200 million on political favours, mistresses, jewellery, fine art, villas and apartments'.
Iraqi-born Nadhmi Auchi
, at that time rumoured to be among the ten richest men of Britain, received a 15-month suspended sentence and a £1.5m fine for his involvement taking illegal commissions. Auchi was also linked to the Clearstream
scandal. He is BNP Paribas bank
's main private share-holder; and until 2001, the money for the Oil-for-Food programme
transited through the escrow
account of BNP Paribas. Magistrate Eva Joly
investigated the case.
In the Leuna/Minol deal following German reunification, Elf Aquitaine took over circa 2,500 vacated gas station allottments in the former East Germany without paying the rightful owners.
From its very beginnings Elf has used motor racing as a means of promotion. It began with a four-year association with Matra
which began with a French Formula 3 programme which resulted in Henri Pescarolo
winning the title. The European Formula 2 Championship fell to Matra the following year with Jean-Pierre Beltoise
. And in 1969 the combination won the Formula One
World Championship with Tyrrell
and Jackie Stewart
. The aim to win the Le Mans 24 Hours was not achieved until 1972 by which time Elf and Matra had gone their separate ways. Elf, at that time owned by the French state, then undertook a policy to rebuild and promote French motor racing and so began a new long-term relationship with Renault
, which was also owned by the French government at the time. Renault still promoted the use of Elf oils in its road cars, while its F1 racing cars also still carried minor Elf sponsorship. This changed in 2009 when the Renault F1 cars replaced the Elf logos with Total logos.
The most famous of the schemes to promote young drivers dates back to the start of the 1970s when Francois Guiter of the Elf petroleum company established what was known as the "Volant Elf". The fastest drivers on each course at the Winfield Racing Schools at Magny Cours
and Paul Ricard
were asked to return to the school in the autumn to establish who had been the fastest driver of the year. The two winners were each given a full budget to race the following year in Formula Renault. If they were fast enough they would be retained by Elf in Formula Three and then Formula Two (or later Formula 3000) and eventually they would get a drive in Formula One. The first two Pilotes Elf were Patrick Tambay
and Didier Pironi
and both went on to win Grands Prix. They were followed over the years by Alain Prost
, Pascal Fabre
, Olivier Grouillard
, Paul Belmondo
, Éric Bernard
, Érik Comas
and Olivier Panis
all of whom became F1 drivers. In addition Elf often picked up other good drivers and sponsored them, creating a generation of top French drivers in the 1980s and early 1990s.
When Guiter retired Elf decided to change the policy and a revised programme was implemented. This aimed to create a scheme for drivers, mechanics and engineers. It was called "La Filière
" and it now funds as many as eight drivers each year in Formula Renault Elf Campus and four in Formula 3. Budgets have been cut and so there is no financial help beyond that and Frenchmen are no longer arriving in F1 as once they were able to do.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
oil
Oil
An oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and does not mix with water but may mix with other oils and organic solvents. This general definition includes vegetable oils, volatile essential oils, petrochemical oils, and synthetic oils....
company which merged with TotalFina to form TotalFinaElf. The new company changed its name to Total
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
in 2003. Elf has been maintained as a major brand of Total.
History
Elf Aquitaine's heritage is rooted among three French oil companies: Régie Autonome des Pétroles (RAP), Société Nationale des Pétroles d'Aquitaine (SNPA), and Bureau de Recherches de Pétroles (BRP). These companies were formed to exploit the discovery of a gas field in Saint-Marcet in the AquitaineAquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
region of south-western France.
In December 1965 RAP and BRP were merged to form Entreprise de Recherches et d'Activités Pétrolières (ERAP). ERAP had SNPA, Union Générale des Pétroles (UGP), and Union Industrielle des Pétroles (UIP) as subsidiaries. The resulting company achieved vertical integration
Vertical integration
In microeconomics and management, the term vertical integration describes a style of management control. Vertically integrated companies in a supply chain are united through a common owner. Usually each member of the supply chain produces a different product or service, and the products combine to...
, owning assets in all phases of the petrol business from exploration and production to the filling station
Filling station
A filling station, also known as a fueling station, garage, gasbar , gas station , petrol bunk , petrol pump , petrol garage, petrol kiosk , petrol station "'servo"' in Australia or service station, is a facility which sells fuel and lubricants...
.
On April 28, 1967 the company's disparate brands and products were unified under the Elf brand, Essence et Lubrifiants de France (France Gasoline and Lubricants).
Elf was the first company to pioneer a total synthetic racing oil.
In 1976 Elf-ERAP merged with Antar Pétroles de l'Atlantique
Antar (company)
Antar is a former petroleum company, founded by Pechelbronn SA in 1927 in Merkwiller-Pechelbronn, Bas-Rhin, Alsace. However, its origins go back to 1745 when a company was formed to develop the natural oil wells in the vicinity of Merkwiller-Pechelbronn. Prior to World War II it also used the...
and became Société Nationale Elf Aquitaine (SNEA), later Elf Aquitaine. Elf Aquitaine was listed on the NYSE in 1991. In 1993 Elf was awarded the exclusive contract to the Iraqi Oil Fields by then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
. In 1996 the French government sold its stake, retaining a Golden Share
Golden Share
A Golden Share is a nominal share which is able to outvote all other shares in certain specified circumstances, often held by a government organization, in a government company undergoing the process of privatization and transformation into a stock-company....
. In 2000 Elf Aquitaine merged with Total Fina to form TotalFinaElf, which changed its name to Total
Total S.A.
Total S.A. is a French multinational oil company and one of the six "Supermajor" oil companies in the world.Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and production to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing, and...
in 2003.
Hoax
Elf Aquitaine spent millions of dollars in the 1979 Great Oil Sniffer Hoax to develop a new "gravity wave-based oil detection system", which was later revealed to be a scam, and lost over $150 million.Fraud scandal
The Elf scandal which came to light in 1994 in France was according to The GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, 'the biggest fraud inquiry in Europe since the Second World War... Elf became a private bank for executives who spent £200 million on political favours, mistresses, jewellery, fine art, villas and apartments'.
Iraqi-born Nadhmi Auchi
Nadhmi Auchi
Nadhmi Shakir Auchi, , is a British Iraqi businessman and billionaire, founding president of the Anglo Arab Organisation, and the founder and chairman of General Mediterranean Holding , a conglomerate of 120 companies worldwide...
, at that time rumoured to be among the ten richest men of Britain, received a 15-month suspended sentence and a £1.5m fine for his involvement taking illegal commissions. Auchi was also linked to the Clearstream
Clearstream
Clearstream Banking S.A. is the clearing and settlement division of Deutsche Börse, based in Luxembourg and Frankfurt. Clearstream was created in January 2000 through the merger of Cedel International and Deutsche Börse Clearing...
scandal. He is BNP Paribas bank
BNP Paribas
BNP Paribas S.A. is a global banking group, headquartered in Paris, with its second global headquarters in London. In October 2010 BNP Paribas was ranked by Bloomberg and Forbes as the largest bank and largest company in the world by assets with over $3.1 trillion. It was formed through the merger...
's main private share-holder; and until 2001, the money for the Oil-for-Food programme
Oil-for-Food Programme
The Oil-for-Food Programme , established by the United Nations in 1995 was established with the stated intent to allow Iraq to sell oil on the world market in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian needs for ordinary Iraqi citizens without allowing Iraq to boost its military...
transited through the escrow
Escrow
An escrow is:* an arrangement made under contractual provisions between transacting parties, whereby an independent trusted third party receives and disburses money and/or documents for the transacting parties, with the timing of such disbursement by the third party dependent on the fulfillment of...
account of BNP Paribas. Magistrate Eva Joly
Eva Joly
Eva Joly is a Norwegian-born French magistrate and politician for the French Green Party.-Early life:Born in Grünerløkka, Oslo, she moved to Paris at 20 to work as an au pair...
investigated the case.
In the Leuna/Minol deal following German reunification, Elf Aquitaine took over circa 2,500 vacated gas station allottments in the former East Germany without paying the rightful owners.
Motorsport
Matra
Mécanique Aviation Traction or Matra was a French company covering a wide range of activities mainly related to automobile, bicycles, aeronautics and weaponry. In 1994, it became a subsidiary of the Lagardère Group and now operates under that name.Matra was owned by the Floirat family...
which began with a French Formula 3 programme which resulted in Henri Pescarolo
Henri Pescarolo
Henri Pescarolo is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 64 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, debuting on 22 September 1968. He achieved one podium, and scored a total of 12 championship points...
winning the title. The European Formula 2 Championship fell to Matra the following year with Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Beltoise
Jean-Pierre Maurice Georges Beltoise is a former Grand Prix motorcycle road racer and Formula One driver who raced for the Matra and BRM teams. François Cevert was his brother-in-law ....
. And in 1969 the combination won the Formula One
Formula One
Formula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Championship with Tyrrell
Tyrrell Racing
The Tyrrell Racing Organisation was an auto racing team and Formula One constructor founded by Ken Tyrrell which started racing in 1958 and started building its own cars in 1970. The team experienced its greatest success in the early 1970s, when it won three drivers' championships and one...
and Jackie Stewart
Jackie Stewart
Sir John Young Stewart, OBE , better known as Jackie Stewart, and nicknamed The Flying Scotsman, is a Scottish former racing driver and team owner. He competed in Formula One between 1965 and 1973, winning three World Drivers' Championships. He also competed in Can-Am...
. The aim to win the Le Mans 24 Hours was not achieved until 1972 by which time Elf and Matra had gone their separate ways. Elf, at that time owned by the French state, then undertook a policy to rebuild and promote French motor racing and so began a new long-term relationship with Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
, which was also owned by the French government at the time. Renault still promoted the use of Elf oils in its road cars, while its F1 racing cars also still carried minor Elf sponsorship. This changed in 2009 when the Renault F1 cars replaced the Elf logos with Total logos.
The most famous of the schemes to promote young drivers dates back to the start of the 1970s when Francois Guiter of the Elf petroleum company established what was known as the "Volant Elf". The fastest drivers on each course at the Winfield Racing Schools at Magny Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours
Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours is a motor racing circuit located in central France, near the towns of Magny-Cours and Nevers, some 250 km from Paris...
and Paul Ricard
Circuit Paul Ricard
The Paul Ricard Circuit is a motorsport race track built at Le Castellet, near Marseille, France, in 1969 with finance from the eccentric drinks magnate Paul Ricard, who created what essentially became Pernod Ricard...
were asked to return to the school in the autumn to establish who had been the fastest driver of the year. The two winners were each given a full budget to race the following year in Formula Renault. If they were fast enough they would be retained by Elf in Formula Three and then Formula Two (or later Formula 3000) and eventually they would get a drive in Formula One. The first two Pilotes Elf were Patrick Tambay
Patrick Tambay
Patrick Daniel Tambay is a French former racing driver. He competed in 123 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, winning twice, securing 5 pole positions and scoring a total of 103 Championship points...
and Didier Pironi
Didier Pironi
Didier Joseph Louis Pironi was a racing driver from France. During his career he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell , Ligier and Ferrari...
and both went on to win Grands Prix. They were followed over the years by Alain Prost
Alain Prost
Alain Marie Pascal Prost, OBE, Chevalier de la Légion d'honneur is a French racing driver. A four-time Formula One Drivers' Champion, Prost has won more titles than any driver except for Juan Manuel Fangio , and Michael Schumacher . From 1987 until 2001 Prost held the record for most Grand Prix...
, Pascal Fabre
Pascal Fabre
Pascal Fabre is a former racing driver from France. He participated in 14 Formula One Grands Prix with the uncompetitive AGS team, debuting on April 12, 1987...
, Olivier Grouillard
Olivier Grouillard
Olivier Grouillard is a racing driver from France. He raced in Formula One from to , participating in 62 Grands Prix, scoring 1 championship point....
, Paul Belmondo
Paul Belmondo
Paul Alexandre Belmondo is a French racing driver who raced in Formula One for the March and Pacific Racing teams. He is the son of actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and grandson of sculptor Paul Belmondo...
, Éric Bernard
Éric Bernard
Éric Bernard is a retired Formula One racing driver, who drove for the Ligier, Larrousse and Lotus teams....
, Érik Comas
Érik Comas
Érik Comas is a former Formula One driver from France. He was French Formula 3 champion in 1988, and then Formula 3000 champion in 1990, after scoring the same number of points as Jean Alesi in 1989 but losing on a count-back of positions. He participated in 63 Grands Prix, debuting on 10 March...
and Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis
Olivier Panis is a French racing driver. Panis is best known in F1 not only as a test driver for the McLaren team but for his win at the eventful Monaco Grand Prix in 1996 for the Ligier team after starting 14th...
all of whom became F1 drivers. In addition Elf often picked up other good drivers and sponsored them, creating a generation of top French drivers in the 1980s and early 1990s.
When Guiter retired Elf decided to change the policy and a revised programme was implemented. This aimed to create a scheme for drivers, mechanics and engineers. It was called "La Filière
La Filiere
Auto Sport Academy was created in 1993 by Elf Aquitaine to promote French drivers at the highest level, in line with its marketing approach and its commitment to Renault in F1...
" and it now funds as many as eight drivers each year in Formula Renault Elf Campus and four in Formula 3. Budgets have been cut and so there is no financial help beyond that and Frenchmen are no longer arriving in F1 as once they were able to do.