Mr Grottes began his career with Airbus Industrie as an administrator and negotiator in the contracts department. He joined Elf Aquitaine in September 1982, where he held the position of technical contracts engineer in France, then in Gabon. From 1988 to 1992, he led the associations division in Gabon. He returned to Paris in 1991 to head the Nigeria Delegation.
In 1993, Mr Grottes was assigned to Angola as deputy managing director, a position he held for four years before being named managing director of Trinidad and Tobago exploration and production (E&P) subsidiaries in 1997. He headed Elf Gabon from 2001 to 2004, then served as managing director in Nigeria and was appointed senior vice president of E&P Africa in September 2008.
