The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has renewed calls for West Africa to establish its own benchmark for pricing refined petroleum products, arguing that fuel costs in the region should not remain overly exposed to price movements and supply disruptions in Western Europe and the Mediterranean.
Speaking in Abuja ahead of the second West Africa Refined Fuel Conference, scheduled for August 11–12, NMDPRA Chief Executive Rabiu Abdullahi Umar, who also chairs the West Africa Regulators Forum (WARF), said major energy markets operate recognised reference prices and argued that West Africa should develop a benchmark reflecting its own market conditions.
Umar said a regional benchmark would incorporate local price discovery, logistics costs and market fundamentals, allowing the region to better reflect its own supply and demand dynamics rather than relying predominantly on pricing signals from distant markets.
He also highlighted progress since the inaugural conference in 2025, including the establishment of WARF, the publication of initial West African reference prices and the opening of an Abuja office by S&P Global Commodity Insights.
The 2026 conference, organised by NMDPRA in collaboration with S&P Global Commodity Insights and WARF, will focus on financing the infrastructure required to support a transparent regional pricing system and a more integrated petroleum market.
The discussions will cover investment in pipelines, storage terminals, marine infrastructure, digital commodity exchanges and logistics corridors needed to improve the movement and pricing of refined products across West Africa.
Umar also pointed to the expansion of domestic refining capacity, including the Dangote Refinery, as an important development in reducing Nigeria’s exposure to international supply disruptions and strengthening regional energy security.
The push for a regional benchmark comes as West African countries seek to deepen petroleum-product trade, improve price transparency and attract investment in infrastructure needed to connect producers, refiners, distributors and consumers across the region.
A credible and widely accepted benchmark could eventually provide a more transparent reference for regional fuel transactions and reduce dependence on pricing indicators established outside Africa.
