Between TotalEnergies and Vivo Energy, who is pumping up a bigger share of the market? 

TotalEnergies Marketing Limited (formerly Total Uganda) and Shell have been market rivals for nearly six decades now.

Shell has been present in Uganda since 1953, while TotalEnergies has been present since 1955. 

Even when Shell, the British multinational oil and gas company sold its African stake to Vivo Energy, which would from 2011, distribute its Shell-branded products, the battle for market supremacy remained. It was renewed.

As a result, over the last 10 years, the two market giants have been involved in massive back-to-back outlets expansion, especially in Central Uganda which accounts for the hugest chunk of economic activity. There is practically a TotalEnergies fuel station around every corner where there is a Shell station. 

While Vivo Energy has largely gone for raw expansion, setting up both Greenfield stations altogether and or buying out individual small operators, such as SuperOil, TotalEnergies has on the other hand benefitted from big Group-level moves, such as the 2016 TotalEnergies Group acquisition of Gulf Africa Petroleum Corporation (GAPCO) assets in Kenya, Tanzania, and Uganda. When the amalgamation was completed, TotalEnergies Uganda was 32 fuel stations rich.  

TotalEnergies has also benefitted from the progression, into the development stage, of Uganda’s oil and gas findings which have allowed the French company to tap into the upstream ecosystem of big fuel consumers to significantly pump up its market share.  

TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC Limited) are joint partners, alongside the Government of Uganda are partners in the development of Uganda’s oil and gas fields. The trio, together with the government of Tanzania are also partners in the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) Project- the 1443-kilometre pipeline that will transport the oil from the Albertine Graben files to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.

TotalEnergies runs three subsidiaries in Uganda i.e. Total Energies Marketing- the downstream retail arm; TotalEnergies East Africa Midstream B.V. which is handling the pipeline project and TotalEnergies E&P Uganda, the upstream oil & gas development arm.

Figures from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Development show that as of September 2021, out of the total 1258 licensed fuel stations in Uganda- 176 belonged to Shell/Vivo Energy (14%) and 164 fuel stations (13.03%) belonged to TotalEnergies.

But with all these developments and investments in footprint, who is winning the market share war?

Numbers don’t lie

Financial performance figures obtained by CEO East Africa Magazine show that in 2016, TotalEnergies had a turnover of UGX1,003.7 billion while Vivo Energy turned over UGX900 billion, giving TotalEnergies a UGX103.7 billion edge. In 2017 Vivo Energy, backed by an aggressive footprint expansion increased its turnover to UGX1,120 billion, overtaking TotalEnergies which that year turned over UGX1,100.4 billion. 

Vivo Energy, once again beat TotalEnergies, by UGX16.8 billion in 2018, turning over UGX1,319.3 billion compared to TotalEnergies’ UGX1,302.5 billion. In  2019, TotalEnergies aided by a consolidation of its GAPCO acquisition as well as an equally aggressive expansion and increased demand from the upstream and mid-stream oil and gas ecosystem grew its turnover to UGX1,497 billion overtaking Shell which turned over UGX1,291.6 billion, by a whole UGX205.4 billion. 

In 2020, both companies were affected by Covid 2020. TotalEnergies’ turnover reduced to UGX1,455.8 billion, while Vivo Energy’s reduced to UGX1,033.7, allowing TotalEnergies a UGX422.1 billion sales gap. 

Although in 2021 TotalEnergies turned over more money than Vivo Energy- UGX1,504.3 billion, compared to Vivo Energy’s UGX1,244.5 billion, this time, the gap between the two rivals, reduced to UGX260.3 billion! 

It is not clear whether Vivo Energy which continues to expand more aggressively will in this 2022 catch up with TotalEnergies, but are indications are, that could be possible.  

Figures from the Ministry of Energy and Minerals Development show that as of June 2022, Vivo Energy commanded an 18.4% share of the 180,000,000 litres of different petroleum and gas products sold in Uganda. TotalEnergies, according to the ministry figures, had only 14.4%.