NMDPRA tasks investors, regulators on infrastructure for W/Africa petroleum trading hub
Abuja, Aug. 2026 (TBL Africa) The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), has called for increased investment in infrastructure, logistics and operational efficiency to position West Africa as a credible petroleum pricing and trading hub.
Its Chief Executive Officer, Mr Rabiu Umar, made the call on Tuesday in Abuja at the second edition of the West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference.
Umar said that West Africa must urgently bridge infrastructure gaps across refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, ports, jetties, rail networks, road corridors, marine logistics, strategic reserves and digital trading platforms.
‘Infrastructure is the bridge between production and markets. Africa possesses resources. Africa possesses demand. Africa possesses expanding refining capacity.
“Our infrastructure conversation must therefore encompass the entire chain: refineries, pipelines, storage terminals, jetties, ports, rail networks, road corridors, marine logistics, strategic reserves and digital trading platforms.
“The objective is infrastructure that reduces the cost of moving energy, increases supply security, improves inventory visibility, expands the number of credible market participants and creates the physical liquidity upon which transparent pricing depends,” he said.
Umar said that progress had been recorded through the institutionalisation of regional regulatory cooperation under the West Africa Regulators Forum (WARF), as part of efforts toward regional reference pricing and collaboration with S&P Global Commodity Insights.
He urged countries in the region to adopt a regional approach to infrastructure development, adding that strategic assets should serve multiple markets through predictable cross-border arrangements.
The NMDPRA helmsman said that such integration would optimise existing infrastructure, minimise duplication and channel scarce capital into projects with the greatest regional economic impact.
He, however, said that investors would only commit capital where projects were bankable, risks understood, regulations predictable and returns sustainable.
“Capital will go where projects are bankable, risks are understood, regulation is predictable and returns can be sustained,” he said.
Umar underscored the need for operational excellence, stressing that infrastructure without efficient operations would only create costly bottlenecks.
According to Umar, improved port efficiency, terminal turnaround times, pipeline reliability, refinery utilisation and logistics systems are essential to reducing demurrage, delays, losses and transportation costs.
Umar said that technology should increasingly be deployed to strengthen inventory management, product tracking, demand forecasting, scheduling and operational visibility.
He said that the region must move beyond being predominantly a producer and consumer of petroleum resources to becoming an active centre of price discovery, trading, investment and value creation.
According to Umar, the focus must now shift from establishing the foundations to executing the roadmap developed at the inaugural conference in 2025.
He said that the 2025 conference identified reliable refining capacity, storage and logistics networks, interconnected ports, roads, rail and pipelines, harmonised standards and transparent market data as critical requirements for regional price formation.
Umar also identified reliable data and transparency as other critical foundations for credible price discovery.
He urged the West Africa Regulators Forum to evolve from local regulatory oversight into a practical mechanism for regulatory convergence and cross-border energy security.
Francesco Di Salvo, Global Head of Clean Refined Products, S&P Global Energy, said that it was developing independent price benchmarks for West Africa’s refined petroleum products to support the emergence of the region as a transparent and competitive trading hub.
Di Salvo, in a keynote presentation tagged: “Developing Transparent and Robust African Refined Product Market Pricing,” said that the agency’s assessments for gasoline, diesel, gas oil and jet fuel reflected actual West African transactions and Nigerian fuel specifications, rather than relying on European benchmarks.
He said that S&P Global had introduced closing price assessments, as well as new benchmarks denominated in Naira per litre and Naira per kilogramme, to improve price discovery.
Di Salvo said that the agency was also exploring electronic trading platforms that would allow market participants to submit and respond to bids and offers in real time.
He emphasised that transparency, accurate price discovery and market participation were critical towards building a sustainable West African refining and trading hub.
The second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference focused on funding infrastructure and distribution to create a transparent market for regional price benchmarks.
