Moroccan Oil Company SAMIR increased sales, to merge with SCP

Morocco's oil company SAMIR announced revenues of $ 24 million (214.8 mln Dirhams) in the first six months of 1998, a 5.8 % increase compared to the same period of last year.

SAMIR says a small increase in local consumption of oil products and relative monetary stability, despite troubles in the world oil market where prices slumped by 30%, were behind this progress.

SAMIR further announces that its administrative council in a meeting last week approved the company's merger with another oil company SCP.

In fiscal 1997, SAMIR posted net revenues of over $ 51 Mln (514 million dirhams), with sales totalling more than 4.2 million tons, 4.1 % more than in 1996.

The document says that despite a -2.1 % negative growth rate of the Moroccan economy in 1997, consumption of oil products grew by 2 %, reaching 5.9 million tons.

During the same period, SAMIR imported 4.5 million tons of crude oil at an average price of $ 19.6 per barrel. Gulf countries provide 72.5 % of these imports, with Saudi Arabia still holding the first place (56.5 %) while Iraq resumed selling oil to Morocco with 13 % in 1997, Iran supplied 3 % and Nigeria 24.3 %. Imports from Russia stood at 2.9 %.

SAMIR's report also says that in 1997, its privatization operation was completed.