Morocco’s sole refiner Samir, operator of the 200,000 b/d Mohammedia plant, has failed to secure a crude supply deal almost a year after the plant was shuttered because of financial difficulties. A tanker holding 1mn barrels of crude, which was moored off Morocco for almost a year pending a purchase agreement, has set sail for Europe, according to Reuters vessel tracking data.
Samir was forced into administration by a Moroccan court in March. Trading in the company’s shares has been suspended since August 2015, when Moroccan authorities froze the company’s bank accounts over a MD13bn ($1.32bn) tax claim. The plant’s owner, Saudi businessman Muhammad Husain al-Amudi, has since been trying to negotiate a settlement. (CONTINUED - 200 WORDS)
