During his visit to the Hemicycle on Tuesday, November 5, 2019, before the Economic and Financial Affairs Committee of the National Assembly, the Minister of Budget and State Portfolio, Moussa Sanogo, was led to take stock of the financial situation of two major companies in the hydrocarbon sector. These are the Ivorian refining company (SIR) and the Société de gestion des stocks pétroliers de Côte d'Ivoire (GESTOCI) whose economic situation is subject to controversy.

The situation of the SIR is no longer what it used to be, reassures the minister. For the past two to three years, the perpetual nature of the deficit, which was becoming chronic, has no longer been proven. It is an entity that is improving thanks to the various supports that have been granted to it. With a negative net result of 110 billion CFA francs in 2014, the SIR posted a surplus net profit of 23 billion CFA francs at the end of 2018. Its bank debt is just under 3 billion CFA francs to date, against a little more than 24 billion CFA francs in 2017, a decrease of 90%. Its supplier debt, which was around 600 billion CFA francs in 2017, has been divided by three, now around 200 billion CFA francs.  

Helping the CRS to extinguish its debt and revive itself

According to the minister, who specifies that the debt service is integrated into the company's results, it is about 370 billion CFA francs that had to be raised on the financial markets to satisfy the creditors of the SIR. Overall, revenues from the oil sector account for 0.3% of Côte d'Ivoire's tax revenues. In nominal terms, notes the Minister of the Budget, oil revenues have hovered around 360 billion CFA francs.

"We've come a long way. The financial situation of the SIR is far from what it was a few years ago. This is the result of the efforts that the government had to deploy, including this operation to restructure the debt of the SIR, "reassured Moussa Sanogo. He explains that this is not a new levy but a "renunciation of the State to a certain level of resources in order to help the SIR to balance its financial situation, allow it to contract  or even quite quickly extinguish its debt and guarantee the sustainability of its operations with the banking community, while ensuring its extension and development. The SIR has seven shareholders: Petroci Holding, Total Côte d'Ivoire, Sonangol (Angola), Société nationale burkinabè des hydrocarbures (SONABHY), Elf Aquitaine, Sara Limited and the State of Côte d'Ivoire.

The case of GESTOCI  

Concerning the company for the management of oil stocks in Côte d'Ivoire (GESTOCI), whose case was mentioned by parliamentarians, Moussa Sanogo formally denied the articles published in the press mention a hole of 100 billion CFA francs in his accounts.  "Because of its size, Gestoci cannot have such a deficit. This is totally anachronistic," said the minister, who adds that the results of public companies are available online. GESTOCI, he thus cut short, posted a net profit of 1.1 billion CFA francs in 2018 and nothing to date indicates that this company could plunge in 2019. It is obligatory to present quarterly points and twice a year, i.e. semi-annually, a communication is presented to the Council of Ministers drawing up the state of play.