The reduction is probably related to a swap which turned the 70 Total stations in Hungary into Shell stations in 2003, the paper wrote. Under the 2003 deal, TotalFinaElf agreed to swap 70 petrol stations in Hungary, 33 in the Czech Republic and seven in France for 133 of Shell’s stations in Germany.
Since the deal, turnover of Total Hungaria has fallen drastically, but the unit had, until now, not reduced its capital.
Without its petrol stations, Total Hungaria relies on sales of bitumen, lubricants, solvents and PB gas. The unit had revenue of Ft 18.86 billion in 2005. It sold 40,000 tons of PB gas, 6,500 tons of lubricants and 33,300 tons of other products. The unit continues to sell some vehicle fuel to road haulage companies and industrial businesses. It also started selling aircraft fuel in 2004.