French energy giant TotalEnergies is to sell off its Brazilian fuel retail network to SIM Distribuidora. The company says getting rid its service stations will allow it to focus instead on countries where it has a more significant market position.
SIM Distribuidora already had a network of 500 service stations in Brazil, as well as operations in lubricants and aviation. The addition of TotalEnergies’ 240 locations, plus petroleum products and ethanol storage, still places the company fairly low in the rankings. The largest player, Vibra Energia, has upwards of 8,000.
TotalEnergies will retain its lubricant blending and distribution activities. Brazil is the sixth-largest lubricant market in the world and consumed about 1.35 billion liters of lubricants in 2023.
According to a survey by Lubes em Foco, the leading lubricant distributors are Iconic Lubrificantes – a joint venture between Chevron and Ipiranga – with a market share of 17.7%, Cosan Lubrificantes/Moove, which distributes Mobil products, at 16.9%, Vibra Energia and its Lubrax products with a share of 15.9%, and Raízen which distributes with Shell with a 11.7% share. TotalEnergies is not in the top 10.
France-based TotalEnergies is one of the biggest energy companies in the world and also one of the largest lubricant suppliers. It has been working to expand lubricant sales in Latin America.