How Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi’s failed refinery left Morocco with a $7 billion bill

Ethiopian billionaire Mohammed Al-Amoudi remains at the center of one of Morocco’s costliest industrial failures. The Samir refinery in Mohammedia, once capable of processing 10 million metric tons of crude annually, has been idle since August 2015. A 2025 African study estimated that the refinery’s collapse cost Morocco 66.5 billion dirhams, or about $7.1 billion, according to The Africa Report. 

A costly privatization deal

The refinery’s troubles trace back to 1997, when Morocco sold Samir to Corral Petroleum Holdings, Al-Amoudi’s company, during an effort to raise funds under an International Monetary Fund and World Bank-backed structural adjustment program. Corral paid 4 billion dirhams, or about $425 million in today’s money, beating a group of domestic fuel distributors.

The deal initially gave Al-Amoudi’s company significant protection. Morocco guaranteed customs duties on imported fuel for five years, while Corral pledged almost 5 billion dirhams in capital spending across Samir’s Mohammedia refinery and a secondary facility in Sidi Kacem. Samir initially prospered, posting nearly $100 million in profit in 2000 before its financial position deteriorated.

Fire, debt and shutdown

A fire on Nov. 25, 2002, killed two workers and halted operations, forcing Morocco to suspend Samir’s customs protections so distributors could import fuel directly. Al-Amoudi responded with a modernization plan exceeding 12 billion dirhams, but much of the promised investment failed to materialize. A hydrocracking unit finally began operating in 2010.

By 2014, Samir had recorded a net loss of about $430 million against revenue of roughly $5.5 billion. Losses reached another $230 million in the first half of 2015 before Al-Amoudi shut the refinery that August. A proposed 6.7 billion-dirham equity rescue failed to materialize, and a court placed Samir into liquidation in March 2016.

Bankruptcy draws legal fight

Samir entered liquidation with more than $4 billion in liabilities owed to about 400 creditors, including Morocco’s customs authority and three major banks. The Casablanca Commercial Court found former management, including Al-Amoudi, legally responsible for the failure. Corral later sought $2.7 billion from Morocco through international arbitration, alleging officials obstructed its investments.

In 2024, an arbitration panel awarded Corral $150 million, although collection remains subject to legal challenges. Meanwhile, efforts to sell Samir have repeatedly failed. Fifteen proposals have collapsed since bidding began in 2017, including a $3.5 billion offer from Emirati firm MJM Investments that a court rejected in February.

Al-Amoudi’s wealth endures

The refinery’s collapse unfolded alongside a dramatic period in Al-Amoudi’s personal life. Saudi authorities detained him in November 2017 during the kingdom’s anti-corruption campaign. He spent about 14 months in detention before his release in January 2019, following lobbying by Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Despite the upheaval surrounding Samir and his detention, Al-Amoudi’s fortune remains substantial. His wealth is estimated at about $10 billion, built largely through closely held holdings spanning Sweden, Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia. His Saudi fuel retail business, Naft Services, has an implied value of about $540 million for his personal stake.

Morocco moves beyond refining

Morocco has largely abandoned efforts to revive domestic refining and is instead expanding fuel storage to reduce exposure to supply disruptions. National storage capacity reached 3.2 million cubic meters in 2025, up 30 percent from 2021, while another 1.5 million cubic meters is planned by 2030, according to Energy Transition Minister Leila Benali.