Morocco's oil refiners to merge in 1999
Morocco, Business, 6/24/1998

Morocco's main oil refiner, Samir, is expected to merge with refinery Societe Cherifienne des Petroles (SCP) in the beginning of 1999, a senior manager said on Tuesday.

Samir's Chairman Abderrafie Menjour told a news conference, "The merger between Samir and SCP refineries will be discussed by the management in September...It is expected to take place in the beginning of 1999."

Samir is located in the port town of Mohammedia on the Atlantic coast near Morocco's financial center of Casablanca while SCP, which refines 20 percent of the country's oil needs, is established in the northern city of Sidi Kacem.

The merger is expected to create a synergy, downsize the production costs and safeguard the interests of the two companies' shareholders, Menjour said.

As main operator on the domestic oil market, Samir refines 80 percent of Morocco's oil product needs.

Morocco, which has no oil of its own, depends largely on crude imports to meet local industry demands for energy products. Morocco imports oil mainly from Saudi Arabia (46.4 percent) but also from Nigeria, Iraq and Iran.

"To meet the market demand, Samir imported 4.5 million tons of crude oil at USD 19.67 per barrel, Cost and Freight included in 1997," Menjour said , Map reported.

Last year, the majority stakes of SCP and Samir capital were both acquired by the Sweden-based Saudi Corral Petroleum Holding AB, at more than $400 million as part of the ongoing government privatization program.

Menjour told reporters that Corral group plans to invest the equivalent of $500 million on a five-year period "to upgrade Samir's infrastructures, refining capacities and products."

Samir made a net profit of 514 million dirhams and a turnover of 7.8 billion dirhams last year, Menjour said.

Samir is among the largest capitalization firms listed on the Casablanca bourse.

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