By Inti Landauro

PARIS--French oil major Total SA (TOT) Tuesday said it has bought oil logistics terminals and gas stations in east Africa as part of a strategy to diversify as pumping oil and gas from the ground has become less profitable.

Total said it bought Gulf Africa Petroleum Corp.'s assets in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania for an undisclosed amount. The main assets acquired by Total are terminals in Mombasa and Dar es Salaam and a network of 100 gas stations.

In an environment of falling crude prices, the profit margins tend to be greater in businesses such as oil refining, oil distribution and petrochemicals manufacturing, collectively known as downstream. Over the past two years, Total has managed to mitigate the impact of the oil price collapse on its bottom line thanks to rising profitability in its downstream activities.

Write to Inti Landauro at inti.landauro@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 31, 2016 03:13 ET (07:13 GMT)