The Chamber of Oil Marketing Companies (COMAC) says cordial discussions are underway with Star Oil and expressed confidence that the market leader will rejoin the Association soon.

Speaking on Joy News’ PM Express, Business Edition on Thursday, COMAC Chairman Gabriel Kumi confirmed that the Chamber has officially responded to a letter from Star Oil’s CEO.

“Yes, we did,” he said.

Asked about the contents of the response, Mr Kumi said it was private but cordial.

“He wrote privately to us. We responded privately to him, and I want to keep it at that, but it was a very cordial response. He’s one of us, and we are all brothers. We are all friends. Even this evening, I called him; we’re laughing, we’re having fun about the whole thing,” he said.

Mr Kumi said he is confident the mechanism the Chamber has put in place will bring Star Oil back into the fold.

“So I am quite confident with the mechanism that we’ve put in place, Star Oil will come back to the fold,” he said.

He explained that a small team has been tasked to engage Star Oil, emphasising the company’s key role within the Association.

“That’s right. An association is like a political party; it runs on numbers. And this is not an ordinary member. Star Oil is the industry leader. Secondly, he is the vice chair of the Chamber.

"So naturally, we wouldn’t want to lose such a member, or any other member for that matter,” he said.

Mr Kumi said the engagement is necessary whenever a major member suspends itself.

“So when such a member suspends itself, it’s just natural that you go to him, engage him and try to get him to rescind his decision,” he added.

Star Oil suspended its membership of COMAC earlier this month amid disagreements over certain policies and the ongoing debate on the petroleum price floor.

The suspension sparked concerns over industry unity and prompted the Chamber to move swiftly to restore relations with the company.