A Source at the Ministry of Energy: New Regulations to be Issued on Petroleum Products Imports

Khartoum – Nazik Shamam
The Sudanese Ministry of Oil and Energy has canceled the group system for importing petroleum products. The ministry set Sunday, May 31st, as the final deadline for implementing this system, according to several importers of petroleum derivatives.
An informed source at the ministry has however revealed that the ministry “has developed new regulations and bylaws that will be made public soon regarding the new import system.” The source has confirmed that the ministry “ will continue with the old system until the new regulations are approved.”
Since the beginning of this fiscal year, the ministry has been working on arrangements to qualify a number of private sector companies to take their share in importing petroleum derivatives (gasoline, diesel, and gas) alongside public sector companies, after this activity had been dominated by a limited number of specific companies.
Last March, the Ministry of Energy and Oil announced the continuation of its fuel import program in cooperation with private sector companies that had managed to coordinate and organize themselves into cooperative groups.
Thirty-nine private sector companies completed the organization and coordination process, forming five groups. This group system operated for three months, from March until the end of May.
According to owners of petroleum import companies who spoke with Sudanhorizon, some entities within these groups are attempting to monopolize imports and restrict them to specific parties within the private sector itself.
The company owners accused influential figures in the government of protecting these entities to achieve their goals. They emphasized that the five groups possess the financial and technical capabilities to import fuel, including storage facilities, distribution stations, and tankers.
One fuel import company owner, who preferred to remain anonymous, warned against adopting any new system other than the group system, arguing that it would be unfair to others, create a form of monopoly, raise prices, and potentially lead to fuel shortages.
In the statement to Sudanhorizon, the source has revealed that the ministry had formed a committee to review the work of the groups. The source said that “the groups system has proven to be very successful in providing fuel, achieving fairness for importing companies, and preventing monopolies.” He noted that in the previous import system, before the groups, only five companies were authorized to import and were making huge profits at the expense of the consumers due to their monopoly on fuel. Moreover, the system contributed to depriving more than 25 qualified companies from importing.

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