Moroccan Oil Union Chief Slams ’Excessive’ Fuel Margins Amid Price Surge

Since the cessation of production by the Moroccan Anonymous Refining Industry Company (Samir), Morocco has been sourcing from the international market where average prices in mid-April 2025 were about 4.87 dirhams per liter for diesel and 4.63 per liter for gasoline, explains El Yamani to Telquel.

The president of the National Front for the Safeguarding of Samir adds that "by applying the formula in force before the price liberalization at the end of 2016 (international price + fees + taxes + regulated profits), the public selling price for the first half of May 2025 should not exceed 9.09 dirhams for diesel and 10.59 dirhams for gasoline".

He continues: "Any amount above these thresholds constitutes excessive profit made by the dominant players in the Moroccan fuel market, who have accumulated more than 80 billion dirhams until the end of 2024, without taking into account the opportunities offered by Russian oil, whose price is often lower than the world average".

According to the Secretary General of the National Oil and Gas Union, "a precise examination of profit margins shows that they represent at least 20% of the public selling price in Morocco, compared to an average of 5% in countries where competition is real and regulated".

El Yamani invites the Head of Government "to repeal price liberalization, review the high level of taxes, restart refining in Morocco, and rethink the entire legislative framework related to energy, in a regional and international context marked notably by recent power cuts in our European neighbors".