Morocco: Nine oil companies fined for anti-competitive practices
More than €165 million (1.84 billion dirhams) in fines for nine oil companies accused of anti-competitive practices in Morocco's hydrocarbon distribution market. This decision was announced on Thursday 23 November by the Competition Council, whose investigation revealed collusion between these companies. France's TotalEnergie is one of the companies implicated, as is Afriquia, owned by the current Moroccan prime minister.
An oil refinery (Illustrative image) AP - Fateh Guidoum
By: RFI Follow
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A financial agreement has concluded this sensitive case, which has had many twists and turns.
The competition authority had concluded as early as 2020 that there had been a cartel between the three main oil companies operating in Morocco, but its recommendations on the financial penalty to be applied had not been followed.
France's Total, Afriquia, Vivo Energy and six other oil companies will have to pay a total amount equivalent to more than €165 million.
In 2018, a parliamentary committee suggested that their cartel would have allowed them to rake in margins at the pump amounting to nearly one and a half billion euros since 2015, the year Morocco liberalised the sector and lifted fuel subsidies.
Since then, importers have significantly increased their margins, but the almost identical prices from one station to another fuelled suspicions.
In addition to paying a fine, oil companies will also be forced to comply with a set of commitments in order to better comply with competition rules, to the benefit of consumers.
This three-year compliance program will be overseen by the Conseil de la concurrence, which hopes to perpetuate good practices in the sector.
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