— S&P Global urges market participation By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja The Federal Government has backed the establishment of a regional petrol pricing benchmark for West Africa, saying the initiative would strengthen energy security, deepen cross-border trade and enable the region to determine the value of its refined petroleum products. The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, stated this yesterday at the 2026 West Africa Refined Fuel Market, WAFRFM, Conference in Abuja, where regulators, refiners, traders, investors and other industry stakeholders discussed the development of a regional petroleum pricing and trading hub. Lokpobiri said Nigeria’s decision to deregulate the downstream petroleum sector was aimed at unlocking investment and allowing market forces to play a greater role in determining petroleum prices. He said the country’s expanding refining capacity and strategic position in Africa placed Nigeria in a strong position to support the emergence of a more integrated West African petroleum market. The minister, however, stressed that Nigeria could not achieve the objective alone, urging stronger cooperation among West African countries and greater alignment of regulatory frameworks. “If we are successful in Nigeria, we haven’t achieved our objective. We want Ghana to succeed,” he said. According to him, the regional market should enable countries to maximise their respective advantages, facilitate investment and reduce dependence on pricing structures determined outside Africa. Lokpobiri said Nigeria was committed to supporting the initiative and attracting investment into refining and the broader downstream petroleum value chain. From roadmap to execution Chief Executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, said the 2026 conference marked a transition from developing a roadmap to implementing it. He said the inaugural conference in 2025 laid the foundation for a West African refined-products reference market, with emphasis on refining capacity, logistics, storage, infrastructure, regulatory cooperation, market data and access to capital. Umar said progress had been recorded a year later, particularly through the West Africa Regulators Forum and collaboration with S&P Global Commodity Insights to bring market reporting and benchmark expertise closer to regional transactions and physical product flows. He cautioned, however, that a benchmark could not exist in isolation. “A reference price is not by itself a trading hub. A conference is not a market,” Umar said, stressing that credible price discovery required physical infrastructure, commercial liquidity, reliable market information and operational efficiency. He said West Africa must develop the infrastructure required to move petroleum products efficiently from refineries to storage facilities, terminals and ports, and ultimately across borders to demand centres. According to him, the infrastructure requirements include refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, jetties, ports, roads, rail networks, marine logistics, strategic reserves and digital trading platforms. Umar described the region’s infrastructure deficit as an opportunity for investors, identifying pipelines, product transportation systems, storage facilities, marine terminals, refinery expansion and optimisation, road and rail logistics, gas infrastructure, digital commodity exchanges and trading platforms as potential areas for investment. He said capital would only flow into projects that were bankable, supported by predictable regulations and capable of delivering sustainable returns. “For investors, predictability matters. For operators, efficiency matters. For consumers, affordability and reliability matter. For regulators, safety, integrity, competition and compliance matter,” he said. The NMDPRA chief also called for greater operational efficiency, particularly at ports and terminals, saying delays, demurrage, transportation costs and inefficient infrastructure could undermine the competitiveness of the regional market. He identified five priorities for the next phase of the initiative: deepening physical market liquidity, financing strategic infrastructure, harmonising regulations and product standards, institutionalising market transparency and building a complete trading ecosystem. Such an ecosystem, he said, must include refiners, traders, terminal operators, ship owners, marketers, banks, insurers, commodity exchanges, data providers and regulators. Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said West Africa was not short of e
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