Arbitration on Samir Refinery Resurfaces in Parliament

An opposition group at the Lower House questioned Minister of Energy Leila Benali about the results of the international arbitration on the Samir Oil Refinery.
Corral Petroleum Holding, the owner of 67% of Samir’s capital, has initiated on March 14th, 2018 an arbitration proceeding at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The parliamentary group stated that the indebtedness of the Samir oil refinery was due to mismanagement and failure to apply investment obligations under the privatization contract.
The procedure seeks compensation for damage to its investments in the country and for failure to abide by the investment agreement. An initial compensatory amount is set at $1.5 Bln.
Samir, the country’s only oil refiner, has been placed in liquidation since March 2016.
The Parliamentary Group enquired about actions taken to protect the national interests and avoid further losses.