Morocco’s sole oil refinery in Mohammedia, near Casablanca, on June 22, 2019. Three years after it was liquidated for racking up billions of euros worth of debt, Morocco’s sole oil refinery and one-time economic flagship is struggling to attract a buyer and survive. – AFP via Getty Images)
Should Morocco reopen its oil refinery?
Morocco currently imports 90% of its energy, and rising fossil fuel prices are increasing the calls to reopen the kingdom’s sole oil refinery. The Société Anonyme Marocaine de l’Industrie du Raffinage (SAMIR) opened in 1959 as a joint venture between the Moroccan state and Italian energy giant ENI.
Will Morocco’s refinery move make sense now?
The move might make sense now. But current market dynamics are not guaranteed to last. Morocco’s sole refinery, the 200,000 b/d Samir plant in Mohammedia has been stuck in financial and legal limbo since 2015 when it was mothballed due to its inability to pay billions in accrued debts to multiple creditors ( MEES, 14 August 2015 ).
Should Morocco’s Samir oil plant be brought back online?
Activists and opposition parties are calling for Morocco’s SAMIR oil plant to be brought back online after a seven-year hiatus to alleviate fossil fuel import pressure and enhance energy sovereignty. Morocco’s sole oil refinery in Mohammedia, near Casablanca, on June 22, 2019.