TotalEnergies takes note, while contesting the merits, of yesterday’s decision issued by the French Competition Authority regarding the supply of petroleum products in Corsica, which imposes a fine on the Company.

TotalEnergies observes that the Authority’s position, after four years of investigation and numerous hearings and on-site visits, is not supported by any tangible evidence of any potential anti-competitive effect in Corsica. The decision is based solely on a 2016 contractual clause governing access to Corsica’s oil depots for shareholders who have invested in these depots, while a contractual fuel supply arrangement was also available to distributors who were not shareholders.

TotalEnergies regrets that the Authority did not recognize that this clause had no adverse effect either on the local distributor in Corsica which filed the complaint, or on consumers on the island. In fact, this distributor was able to continue sourcing fuel from TotalEnergies or from other shareholders of the depots, even significantly increasing its supply volumes, while maintaining almost unchanged the number of its service stations throughout the period in question.

In Corsica, TotalEnergies has been supplying fuel to residents for 60 years and currently operates a network of 47 service stations across the island, including in rural areas close to local communities. For several years, the Company has been committed to supporting the purchasing power of Corsican residents, notably by reducing fuel prices by €0.20 per liter in 2022, followed by capping prices at €1.99 since 2023—a measure that remains in effect today.

Our Company struggles to see, under these circumstances, how it could have engaged in anti-competitive practices and will therefore appeal this decision before the Paris Court of Appeal.

Given the disproportionate nature of the fine compared to the profitability of its operations on the island, TotalEnergies has decided to initiate a strategic review of the conditions for continuing its marketing activities in Corsica.