Abuja: Rep. Ikenga Ugochinyere, the Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum Resources (Downstream), has pledged legislative support for the establishment of a transparent West African refined fuel pricing benchmark. Ugochinyere made the commitment at the West Africa Refined Fuel Market 2026 Conference in Abuja, organised by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to News Agency of Nigeria, the conference, themed ‘Funding West Africa Infrastructure and Distribution to Create a Transparent Market for Regional Price Benchmarks,’ emphasized the importance of developing a credible benchmark for refined petroleum products in West Africa. Ugochinyere noted that the region has historically been a ‘price taker’ despite being a major consumer, importing both the product and the price signal at a premium.
Ugochinyere stated that collaboration with the NMDPRA and the West Africa Regulator Forum is essential to ensure that the price reporting architecture underpinning West African reference prices receives statutory support and enforceable compliance obligations. He highlighted that a voluntary benchmark lacks stability.
The lawmaker remarked on the changing dynamics of the regional market due to developments such as the 650,000 barrels-per-day Dangote Refinery, ongoing rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt, Warri, and Kaduna refineries, and reforms under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA). He emphasized the necessity for the region to develop its capacity to price refined petroleum products.
Ugochinyere identified liquidity, deliverability, data integrity, and trust as the key foundations for a credible regional benchmark. He underscored the importance of investment in infrastructure such as storage facilities, jetties, pipelines, depots, metering, road, and rail evacuation to establish transparent price discovery.
The initiative led by Nigeria, and driven by the NMDPRA, aims to replace external pricing indices from Western Europe and the Mediterranean with a transparent, locally determined market system, enabling West Africa to define its own market realities.