Monrovia — Tensions have escalated between the Liberia Petroleum Refining Company (LPRC) and Srimex Oil and Gas after LPRC management reportedly shut down Srimex's terminals, blocking the movement of petroleum products over unpaid taxes and alleged non-compliance with new tariff regulations.
According to sources, LPRC personnel attempted to operate the Srimex terminal to enforce newly imposed taxes, but Musa Bility, the owner of Srimex Oil and Gas, refused to allow them access. Reports indicate that in response, LPRC officials allegedly broke locks and blocked the terminal gate, preventing the company from distributing its products.
Bility said the shutdown was unjustified, asserting that Srimex already has a billing and taxation system in place. "They say they came to enforce their new tariff they just enforced. I told them that we already have a system; there's already a billing system. Why are they obstructing our operations? They have all of our trucks outside. We will go to court," Bility told reporters.
LPRC management, however, defended its actions, describing the move as standard protocol when companies fail to comply with regulations. "Once they comply, we will lift the restrictions. The same procedure was followed at Conex, and they have since complied," a senior LPRC official said.
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The LPRC also accused Srimex of preventing its monitoring team from accessing the terminal, a measure the company said is necessary to ensure compliance with Liberia's petroleum taxation and tariff laws.
Background
The standoff comes against the backdrop of recent government reforms in Liberia's petroleum sector aimed at reducing costs to consumers and increasing revenue for the state.
Earlier this year, the Liberian Senate mandated its Joint Committee on Ways, Means, Finance and Budget, Judiciary, Public Corporations, Trade and Industry, and Hydrocarbons to investigate allegations of unfair pricing of petroleum products. The committee's report recommended a reduction in storage fees charged on petroleum products from US$0.35 per gallon to US$0.10, while financing costs imposed on importers were cut from US$0.40 per gallon to 1% of CIF value.
President Joseph Boakai subsequently endorsed the recommendations, reducing the storage fee to US$0.05 per gallon.
The decision triggered backlash from Musa Bility, who accused the government of political witch-hunt and claimed that the reduction was designed to hurt his company's revenues. Bility has publicly named Vice President Jeremiah Koung and Senators Prince Moye and Emmanuel Nuquay as masterminds of the policy.
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Senator Prince Moye, however, recently dismissed Bility's claims, stressing that the deducted storage fees "belong to the Liberian people" and not private tank owners.
With the latest confrontation at Srimex's terminal, tensions between Bility and the Boakai-Koung administration appear to be deepening, setting the stage for what could become a major legal and political showdown in Liberia's petroleum industry.
