The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has said that geopolitical crises in Western Europe and the Mediterranean should no longer automatically dictate fuel prices across West Africa.
Speaking on Tuesday at the second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja, NMDPRA Chief Executive and West Africa Regulator Forum (WARF) Chairman, Rabiu Umar, advocated for a regional benchmark tailored to local supply, demand, refining, and logistics.
“If we look at the refining capacity on the continent and how it has been increasing, it simply doesn’t make sense that if there is a problem in Western Europe or in the Mediterranean, it is going to affect our pricing in Africa,” Umar told regulators, refiners, and financiers at the event, jointly hosted with S&P Global Commodity Insights.
Umar stressed that whilst the goal is not to sever ties with international markets, West Africa requires a pricing model that shields it from unrelated external shocks. “If we have a problem, it is reflected in the pricing. If we don’t have a problem, then we are to be shielded to an extent, I would say, from what is going on in other locations,” he remarked.
However, the regulator cautioned that establishing a credible trading hub requires tangible execution rather than administrative agreements alone. “A reference price is not by itself a trading hub. A conference is not a market,” Umar warned, noting that “last year, our focus was on establishing the foundation. This year, our focus must be on execution.”
To achieve this, the NMDPRA chief identified major structural hurdles, including the need for cross-border infrastructure, such as pipelines, interconnected ports, roads, and rail, alongside international capital, transparent market data, and harmonised fuel specifications across neighbouring nations to enable seamless trade.