TotalEnergies reportedly preparing to leave Ethiopia

TotalEnergies, the French energy major, is reportedly preparing to leave the Ethiopian market. According to Africa Business+, the company has reached an agreement to sell its network of around 120 service stations in the country to OLA Energy, formerly known as OiLibya.

The financial details of the deal haven’t been disclosed, and neither TotalEnergies nor OLA Energy has officially confirmed it yet. If confirmed, the sale would bring TotalEnergies’ 76 years retail fuel business in Ethiopia to an end.

No reason has been given for the move, and the fate of the 166 employees of the company in Ethiopia remains unclear. TotalEnergies has reportedly faced profitability challenges in Ethiopia for several years. Industry observers point to factors such as regulated fuel prices, foreign exchange shortages, rising operating costs, and difficulties in repatriating earnings as potential constraints on the company’s financial performance.

It remains unclear whether the conflicts in the Amhara, Tigray, and parts of the Oromia regions have contributed to TotalEnergies’ reported decision to divest its Ethiopian operations. However, sources familiar with the matter who spoke to Ethiopia Observer said that security concerns and the broader economic challenges facing businesses in Ethiopia may have been among the factors considered by the company in its strategic review.

Most of TotalEnergies’ service stations in Ethiopia are concentrated in Addis Ababa and the central parts of the country. Some of its most prominent locations, including stations in Piassa and Kazanchis, were affected by the Addis Ababa corridor development project and were subsequently demolished. The company was reportedly provided with replacement sites for at least some of these strategic locations.

TotalEnergies’ main competitors in the Ethiopian fuel market are OLA Energy and National Oil Ethiopia (NOC), a company owned by the businessman Mohammed Al Amoudi.

In recent years, TotalEnergies has been cutting back its fuel retail business across several African countries. It left Mali in January 2025, Burkina Faso in February 2025, and the Central African Republic later in 2025. In Côte d’Ivoire, it also sold its 27.33% stake in the Société Ivoirienne de Raffinage to Sahara Energy, a Nigerian company, the report said. Some of these countries have seen growing Russian influence and rising diplomatic tensions with France, where TotalEnergies is based.

Africa remains a historic pillar for the French group, with operations in more than 40 countries. In 2025, the continent accounted for 17% of the group’s global hydrocarbon production. It also represented 13% of global refined product sales. Africa therefore remained the group’s second-largest geographic region, behind Europe.