Abuja: The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has called on stakeholders to boost investment in infrastructure, logistics, and operational efficiency to establish West Africa as a credible petroleum pricing and trading hub. This call was made by the Chief Executive Officer of NMDPRA, Mr. Rabiu Umar, at the West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference.
According to News Agency of Nigeria, Umar emphasized the urgent need for West Africa to address infrastructure gaps across various sectors including refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, ports, and digital trading platforms. He highlighted the necessity of infrastructure as a crucial link between production and markets, noting Africa’s ample resources and expanding refining capacity.
Umar pointed out the progress achieved through regional regulatory cooperation under the West Africa Regulators Forum (WARF), stressing the importance of a regional approach to infrastructure development. He urged countries to create strategic assets that serve multiple markets through predictable cross-border arrangements, optimizing existing infrastructure and minimizing duplication.
Investors, Umar noted, would only commit capital to projects that are bankable with predictable regulations and sustainable returns. He underscored the importance of operational excellence, stating that efficient operations are vital to reducing bottlenecks and costs.
Umar advocated for the use of technology to enhance inventory management and logistics systems, aiming for West Africa to evolve into a center of price discovery, trading, and value creation. He mentioned that the focus should now shift from establishing the foundations laid in the inaugural conference of 2025, to executing the developed roadmap.
Francesco Di Salvo from SandP Global Energy highlighted efforts to develop independent price benchmarks for West Africa’s refined petroleum products, aiming to support the region’s emergence as a competitive trading hub. Di Salvo emphasized the importance of transparency and accurate price discovery in building a sustainable refining and trading environment.
The conference, as reported by the News Agency of Nigeria, centered on funding infrastructure and distribution, aiming to create a transparent market for regional price benchmarks.