Beirut (APD) - Morocco's sole oil refiner, Societe Marocaine de l'Industrie du Raffinage (SAMIR) said earlier this week it will finalize a $600 million financing deal before the end of the current year to develop its main refinery in Al Mohammedia coastal city in Morocco.
"Foreign and local creditors will provide the funds," Jamal Ba-Amer a senior executive at SAMIR told Reuters.
"Development works to refurbish the refinery have already started on September 5 this year," Ba-Amer said.
The project aims to enable SAMIR's main refinery which has a capacity 136,000 bpd to produce a type of fuels that meet European standards.
Late in June, African Development Bank (ADB) approved an $85 million loan to SAMIR to finance part of its expansion and revamping of refineries in the Mohammedia port.
The company reported a 135% jump in first-half net profit on higher output and expanded sales.
Net profit rose to $37.6 million for the first six months of 2005 as refined volume rose 14%. SAMIR said its strong results were due to increased refined oil volume, the sale of shares in an unspecified subsidiary and improved performance following an investment plan of $700 million to upgrade its operations. [FC]
By Shikrallah Nakhoul, APD Staff
© APD (Arab Press Digest) 2005
