CITAC recently led a major workshop on the theme of ‘Import Parity Pricing’ on the Gabonese market. The two-day workshop, which took place in Libreville on 18-19 May, was initiated by the country’s sole refiner, SOGARA, and brought together all of the country’s major downstream stakeholders. These included the Presidency of the Gabonese Republic, the Ministry of Mines, Oil and Hydrocarbons, the Ministry of the Economy and the Directors of Gabon’s oil marketing companies.

The interactive workshop set out to review the methodology currently used in Gabon to determine ‘import parity prices’ - the ex-refinery prices SOGARA is authorised to charge for the oil products it produces and any imports it undertakes. The import parity price build-up makes up a significant portion of the final price paid by consumers for their gasoline or gasoil at the pump, as well as any over/under recoveries payable to the country’s various downstream players – hence the need to make sure the build-up is fair to all stakeholders and reflective of realities on the ground.

CITAC would like to thank all workshop participants for sharing their thoughts and expertise on price structures in such a frank and constructive way.