The independent trustee appointed by the court to manage Morocco's only oil refinery Samir has announced that buyers will be invited to submit expression of interest in the coming weeks but only bids that includes the resumption of production would be considered.

Let’s be reminded that the 200,000 barrel per day refinery ran into financial difficulties in 2015 which made it halted production before a court ruling placed it in liquidation and named an independent trustee to run it. The shutting has made Morocco rely on imports at a time when the country was getting its finances back on track by deal with huge deficits. The court ruling had given the new managing team until December 21 to resume production in a bid to secure a buyer and a better price.

According to the court-appointed manager, Mohamed El-Krimi, restarting production will be a requirement for investors who will be invited to submit expressions of interest in the coming weeks. “Once we finish evaluating the company's assets, and once the judge in charge validates the results, we will launch the process,” El-Krimi told Reuters on Monday, declining to give details on the timing but said this could happen before the December 21 deadline.

“The court may extend the deadline if needed, but it is too early to know,” he said.

Samir, where Saudi billionaire, Mohammed al-Amoudi's Corral Holdings had a 67.26 percent stake, has been battling with creditors ranging from oil traders to banks, Reuters reports.

The North African country's petroleum consumption is Africa's fifth largest, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) at just under 300,000 barrels per day.

Anita Fatunji