Daily Times

French oil major TotalEnergies has agreed to sell its 50 per cent stake in oil marketing company Total Parco Pakistan Limited (TPPL) to global commodities trader Gunvor Group, TotalEnergies said in a statement on Tuesday.

A joint venture between Total Energies and Pak-Arab Refinery Limited in Pakistan, TTPL has a retail network of more than 800 service stations and is involved in fuel logistics and lubricants.

TotalEnergies said the transaction, which is subject to regulatory approvals, reflects its selective strategy in marketing and services to focus on “core geographies with growth and transitioning opportunities”.

The new entity will continue its retail business under the existing Total Parco brand and its lubricants business under the Total brand for five years in Pakistan, the statement said. “Well at least it’s another foreigner taking over and not a complete exit, but it’s concerning that Pakistan is no longer a core geography for Total,” said Adnan Sheikh, assistant vice president of research at Pak Kuwait Investment Company.

Last year, Shell Petroleum Company announced its exit from Shell Pakistan with the sale of its 77pc shareholding in the local business.

The move came after Shell Pakistan (SPL) suffered losses in 2022 due to exchange rates, the devaluation of the Pakistani rupee and overdue receivables, and as the country faced a financial crisis and economic slowdown.

Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Monday met officials from Parco and Gunvor Group, who reaffirmed their commitment to the development of the country’s energy sector, the finance ministry said in a statement. The delegations included Mehmet Celepoglu, Parco’s executive vice president for Oceania and South Asia, and Gunvor Group Chief Executive Officer Torbjörn Törnqvist – also a key investor in Pakistan’s oil sector. During the meeting, representatives from both firms provided an overview of their current projects and activities in Pakistan, the finance ministry said. It added that Aurangzeb highlighted the ongoing energy reforms, state-owned enterprise (SOE) reforms and privatisation efforts.