Fuel Price Surge in Morocco May Boost Melilla’s Gas Stations as Border Reopens

The current situation in Morocco, with rising fuel prices at the pump, could be beneficial for the service stations in Melilla, which will certainly be flooded by many Moroccans to fill up their vehicles as soon as the border reopens, believes El Faro de Melilla.

While the trend is downward in Spain, the situation does not seem to be improving in Morocco. According to Leila Benali, the Moroccan Minister of Energy Transition, Morocco will only be able to hold out for 26 days in the event of a shortage, with its security reserve of 437,000 tons of diesel. The gasoline reserve of 83,000 tons should be sufficient for 43 days and those of kerosene and butane gas for 34 and 26 days respectively, the minister said on Wednesday during a presentation to the Infrastructure, Energy, Mines and Environment Committee of the House of Representatives.

Once these deadlines have expired, Moroccan service stations could run out of fuel, warn some sources, who recall that the minimum security stock required by law should allow them to hold out for 60 days. According to an expert, maintaining reserves at such a level requires heavy investments that companies are not ready to make, believing that this should be the responsibility of the state. They therefore prefer to operate on a just-in-time basis, with the risk of supply disruptions due to possible delivery delays.

The rise in fuel prices in Morocco has been weighing on the purchasing power of Moroccans for months. For a while, distributors agreed to adjust prices simultaneously, once every two weeks. But this reality could not be maintained due to the influence of market volatility. The government wants to mobilize two billion dirhams to increase the capacity of oil reserves, the minister announced, adding that an Energy Security Council will also be created to better cope with the situation.