A draft regulation prepared by the Ministry of Trade (MoT) which revises the profit margin of oil companies and dealers in Ethiopia has been submitted to the Council of Ministers.

The draft document will significantly increase the profit margin of the companies and the retailers.

For very long time oil companies enjoyed a profit margin of 0.06 cents per liter while retailers had only 0.04 percent per liter for fuel and fuel products they sale.

According to Capital, oil companies operating in Ethiopia, such as Nile Petroleum, NOC, Total, YBP, Kobil, Oil Libya, Dallol and Taff Oil repeatedly asked MoT to revise the profit margin for fuel and fule products. The companies have also hired consulting firms repeatedly to assess their profit margin and propose recommendations, which they submitted to the government.

However, the government, in the last several years, rejected their requests.

For the purpose of meeting its energy needs, Ethiopia spends 87 percent of the hard currency it accrues from foreign trade and commercial activities and finance its import of close to two billion Liters of fossil oil.

Source: Capital