Rabat – Moroccan Minister of Energy, Minerals, and Environment Aziz Rabbah said during a House of Representatives meeting on Monday that Morocco is importing oil at MAD 3 ($0.30) per liter.
Rabbah announced the price during a presentation before the Committee for Basic Infrastructures, Energy, Minerals, and the Environment on June 1. He explained that the price of oil acquisition at import represents 30% of the final sale price.
The amount is added to the import costs at the level of Moroccan ports, storage and transport costs, distribution and selling costs at the level of service distribution stations, fees and tax costs, in addition to the profit margin at each stage until it is presented for sale in gas stations.
Concerning the fate of the SAMIR refinery, whose activities have been suspended since August 2015, the minister pointed out that the file is “at the hands of the judiciary.” It ruled in favor of the Moroccan government using the SAMIR oil refinery’s tanks on May 14 after the government submitted the request on May 12.
Although the oil refining process is still suspended, the minister stressed that there are four companies affiliated to the SAMIR “maintaining their activities related to import, distribution, storage, and filling of butane gas independently from the primary function of their parent company.”
Rabbah also recalled the Casablanca Commercial Court’s ruling to allow the government to temporarily exploit the SAMIR tanks under these exceptional circumstances.
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“After the approval of the Commercial Court, it was decided to grant the authorization to use these tanks to the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, which would initiate rental procedures and operations related to the supply and storage of petroleum products,” said Rabbah.
The primary cause that prompted the SAMIR to shut down is the refinery’s growing amount of debt, which totaled an estimated MAD 44 billion ($4.4 billion). This includes a MAD 13 billion ($1.3 billion) customs debt to the Moroccan government. After struggling to keep operating, the Casablanca Commercial Court declared SAMIR bankrupt in March 2016, launching the liquidation process.
During Monday’s meeting, the minister made a presentation on the current situation of the international petroleum market and its repercussions on the national market. He stressed that his department has taken several proactive measures during the COVID-19 crisis to ensure a “regular and continuous supply” of petroleum products to the national market.
