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. The report says the sale fits with TotalEnergies’ wider shift toward focusing more on natural gas and renewable energy. In recent years, the company 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.