Total announces sale of Turkish downstream business

French oil company Total has signed an agreement to sell its service station network and commercial sales, supply and logistics assets located in Turkey to Demirören for EUR 325 million (USD 356 million), subject to regulatory approvals.

Total Oil Turkiye is currently the fifth-largest fuel distributor in Turkey, with a network of 440 service stations. Its market share is estimated at 5.5%.

Demirören is one of Turkey’s largest conglomerates, expanding rapidly over the last 60 years in a variety of fields, from manufacturing and construction to tourism, education and the media. Demirören subsidiary Milangaz is Turkey’s leading LPG supplier.

“After operating in Turkey for several years, we conducted an in-depth review of our position and the competitive environment. We concluded that it would be difficult to attain a large enough retail market share to achieve the level of profitability expected for our operations worldwide,” said Philippe Boisseau, president of Total Marketing & Services.

Total will continue to maintain a petroleum product marketing presence in Turkey through its lubricant business, including a lube blending plant in Menemen, and LPG operations. The two businesses will be transferred to a separate company prior to completion of the sale of Total Oil Turkiye to Demirören.

Until the transaction closes, which is expected in a few months, Total Oil Türkiye will continue to operate its activities.

Total plans to sell USD 10 billion of assets between 2015 and 2017, including USD 5 billion this year, to cope with falling crude oil prices.

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