Diesel fuel soon at 18 dirhams per liter in Morocco?

Energy expert and trade unionist from the company La Samir, El Houssine El Yamani, fears direct repercussions on the Moroccan market following the recent attacks involving the United States, Israel and Iran. The latter believes that the geopolitical situation has redrawn the energy map, stressing that "oil and gas prices now only listen to the voice of ballistic missiles".

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This international instability is reflected in a spectacular surge in prices. The price of a barrel of Brent has jumped from $73 to $114, while the price of a ton of diesel has gone from $730 to nearly $1,400. The expert warns that the liter of diesel could thus reach 18 dirhams at the pump in Morocco, a rate that "does not correspond to the income of the majority of Moroccans" and that the sectoral aid to carriers will not be enough to mitigate.

This crisis highlights the flaws in the national system, in particular the cessation of local refining. The specialist calculates a difference of 4.23 dirhams between the liter of crude and that of diesel on the international market. For an annual consumption of seven billion liters, this differential costs the country nearly 30 billion dirhams, constituting according to him an "irrefutable proof of the importance and usefulness of oil refining".

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Faced with this emergency, the trade unionist demands the development of a sovereign plan and a critical evaluation of the privatization and liberalization policies carried out since 1995. To protect purchasing power, he demands the cancellation of price liberalization, a cap on distributors’ margins, a reduction in taxes and, above all, the immediate resumption of activity at the Mohammédia refinery.