The commission is charged with promoting and protecting effective competition and preventing unfair and misleading market conduct throughout Tanzania. Its powers include investigating entry into and exit from markets.

Marsha Msuya, head of Legal and Corporate Affairs for Total Tanzania, said in an email interview that the company will not comment on the transaction pending regulatory approval. We are awaiting for the authorities approval. After that, we will communicate about this transaction and our strategy, Marsha said.

Petrolube did not respond to multiple inquiries from Lube Report about the transaction.

Petrolube supplies lubes in the region for German independent Fuchs Petrolub SE. Petrolube Tanzania operates an 8,000 square meter plant in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Commissioned in 2008, the plant blends 22,000 metric tons of lubricants and 2,000 tons of greases per year. The manufacturing facility includes a 2,200-ton base oil tank farm.

Stakeholders in the Tanzania lubricant market said they would welcome Totals acquisition of the blending plant.

We expect to have high quality lubes manufactured by Total, said Titus Kaguo, communications manager at the Energy and Water Utilities Authority, an industry regulator for the local lubricant market, and this is coming at a time when [the authority] has employed extra efforts to combat illegal importation and use of substandard lubes.

The acquisition of Petrolube would be the latest step in Totals expansion in East Africa. In 2016 the company acquired the assets of Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp. in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania.