Will the new operator have the right to freely use existing infrastructure belonging to private operators established in the country for decades? The refoundation regime is considering a radical change in the petroleum sector. The State plans to import petroleum products directly. However, this import is not as direct as it seems, since operations will be entrusted to a specially authorized entity.

Praiseworthy in principle

The reform will indeed take place through draft law no. 021/2026 establishing the principles governing the exercise of certain downstream petroleum activities by an entity authorized by the State. In its first article, the draft law aims to "guarantee consumers and the country a resilient, sustainable, adequate, reliable, efficient and economical hydrocarbon supply system." The government's stated ambition is clear: strengthen the security of petroleum product supplies and enable the State to obtain better purchasing conditions on the international market. An objective that is praiseworthy in principle, since few would contest the need to secure a sector as strategic as hydrocarbons, in an international context marked by price volatility and supply chain tensions. Moreover, the transitional authorities have consistently emphasized the need to reduce fuel prices, which have been deemed excessive so far, while the population's purchasing power continues to erode.

Preferential treatment

But questions arise at the operational implementation level of the project, which does not provide for the State to carry out import operations itself. Article 4 provides that the State entrusts this mission to a "specially authorized entity," responsible in particular for prospecting, negotiating, acquiring and importing petroleum products. This structure would also intervene in other activities of the petroleum chain, such as transport, storage, distribution and sales. The draft law provides for granting preferential treatment to this specially authorized entity, which could, in principle, constitute a breach of the principle of equal treatment of economic actors and free competition. In any case, the State has an interest in clarifying the ins and outs of the special regimes that will be granted to this entity.