Gasoline demand in Europe and the U.S. is expected to fall through to 2020 in the wake of the global economic slowdown, said an executive of French oil major Total SA (TOT) Monday.

"We are quite convinced at Total that in both regions the consumption will decrease very sharply until 2015 and 2020," André Tricoire, senior vice president of refining, said.

Speaking at Platts's European Refining Markets conference in Brussels, Tricoire said the decline in gasoline demand is one of the biggest threats to European refiners, who are heavily reliant on gasoline exports to the U.S.

Climate change legislation could further discourages gasoline consumption, he added.

Excess refining capacity is expected to pressure refining margins in the short and medium term, he added.

-By Lananh Nguyen, Dow Jones Newswires; +44 (0)20-7842-9479; lananh.nguyen@dowjones.com