ECOWAS members set timeline to achieve refinery hub goals—NMDPRA

Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority said that West African countries will sign harmonised refinery regulatory agreements in the fourth quarter of 2025 to achieve their refinery hub goals. Zainab Gobir, the executive director in charge of economic regulations and strategic planning at NMDPRA, made this statement in Abuja, while presenting the outcome of a two-day Global Commodity Insights Conference on the West African Refined Fuel Market. The conference was convened by the NMDPRA and the S&P Global. Ms Gobir said the essence of the timeline and agreements was to ensure that operational refineries steadily operate at optimal output to fulfill West Africa’s demand for refined products. “All member states are expected to abide by the agreements. What is our timeline? Short to medium term. Secondly, a harmonised regional market framework, regulatory policy, and incentives that will attract investment in greenfield refinery products.
“The action base entails regional regulatory bodies working closely together, towards realisation of its timeline in the fourth quarter of 2025,” she said. Ms Gobir said that the harmonised regional market framework, regulatory policy, and incentives were expected to attract investment, adding that the conference was able to develop a roadmap from 2025 to 2030. She said that a stiff penalty would be imposed for non-performance in all countries of the West African sub-region, ensuring that all licensed refineries committed to the obligations. Gobir said that the conference also adopted measures to protect domestic refineries from unfair international competition and destruction of structures and systems. According to her, there is a unanimous call for regulatory alignment and the adoption of a harmonised, transparent, and robust refining product market pricing.
She described the Dangote Refinery as a game changer in the market, where other functional upcoming refineries in West Africa were also changing the dynamics of defining product markets in the region. She listed the development finance institutions to include the African Finance Corporation, Afrexim Bank, the African Energy Bank, and private investors. Ms Gobir said for S&P Global Insights, it was resolved that the organisation include an update on the West Africa infrastructure development in its West African market status and development updates Speaking, Mr Farouk Ahmed, NMDPRA Chief Executive, noted that three hubs with pricing benchmarking potential were currently available. He said that West Africa had five locations, noting that S&P Global Insights had agreed to collaborate with the authority to help establish a hub in Nigeria. According to him, the trade hub will indirectly address the issue of energy security because of the business activities on the shores.