Created by decree No. 74/458 of 10 May 1974 after the first oil crisis to protect the domestic economy from the fluctuating prices of hydrocarbons on the international and national markets and reorganised

initially by decree No. 98/165 of 26 August 1998 and then by Decree No. 2019/032 of 24 January 2019, the Hydrocarbons Prices Stabilization Fund (HPSF) is a special public establishment with legal personality and financial autonomy.

The HPSF operates under the supervision of the Minister in charge of prices and managed according

to the rules of private accounting, in accordance with the provisions of the OHADA Uniform Act.

As such, it is responsible in particular for:

• The total or partial coverage of petroleum products price increases, within the limits of its financial resources;
• All operations likely to stabilise the said prices in accordance with the laws and regulations in force;
• All mechanisms and operations aimed at improving the supply of petroleum products nationwide, in conjunction with the Monitoring Committee for the Supply of Petroleum Products to the domestic market.

At this point, it is worth mentioning that after the liberalisation of the downstream oil sector, which was implemented progressively between 1995 and 2000, the domestic prices of petroleum products were indexed to the evolution of the international oil market situation. During this period, following an appreciation on the international oil market, these prices rose sharply between 1994 and 2006, with a fivefold increase in the price of super, a fourfold increase in the price of paraffin and an eightfold increase in the price of diesel.

In the face of this situation and given its financial incapacity, the HPSF was no longer able to stabilise the prices of petroleum products with the exception of domestic gas, which is an essential product for households and for the protection of the environment.

Thus, starting in 2008, the government decided to control the evolution of domestic prices at the pump in order to preserve the purchasing power of consumers by the state covering the shortfalls recorded on white products (super, kerosene, diesel) of the refinery and importers of these products.

A review of the missions of the HPSF shall precede this presentation, to enable a better grasping of the role of the HPSF in the downstream petroleum sector and the objectives of its action on socio-economic development.

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