By: AGBI

Morocco’s parliament has rejected a proposal to acquire the country’s dormant oil refinery, ending the latest attempt to resolve an issue that has dominated political debate for a decade.

A number of MPs had submitted a proposal to parliament to transfer the assets of the Saudi-owned Samir refinery, which was ordered to be liquidated by a local court in 2016 following the accumulation of debt.

“At its session on Tuesday, the House of Councillors [parliament] turned down the proposal to nationalise Samir oil refinery,” the state news agency said.

Supporters of the proposal argue that restoring public control over the former state refinery could strengthen national fuel reserves and improve supply stability. Opponents are concerned by issues including arbitration and the debt liability.

In February, media reports said that the Dubai-based MJM Investments submitted an offer of around $3.5 billion to acquire Samir refinery but it was rejected by court.

The aim was to acquire the refinery’s industrial and strategic assets to relaunch it as an operational refining platform after nearly a decade of inactivity, the Saudi Asharq Business website said in February.

Hundreds of workers who have lost their jobs following the liquidation of Morocco’s sole oil refinery have frequently demonstrated to demand its revival.

Labour union leaders across Morocco have supported the protests by the engineers and workers of the 150,000bpd refinery in the Western port of Mohammedia to press for its operation after it was shut down in 2015.

The refinery was constructed and run by the state from 1959 until 1997, when it was sold to Swedish company Corral Morocco Holdings, which belongs to Saudi-Ethiopian billionaire, Sheikh Mohammed Hussein Al Amoudi.

Due to accumulated debts of more than $4 billion, the Commercial Court of
Casablanca issued a judicial liquidation in 2016.

Morocco is almost entirely reliant on petrol imports. Last month, officials said the government is allocating nearly MAD3 billion ($330 million) per month to subsidise spiralling petrol prices following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz by Iran.