The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has declared that the time has come for West Africa to determine the price of its petroleum products, arguing that it is no longer sustainable for a region rich in crude oil and gas to depend on pricing benchmarks set outside the continent.

The Authority Chief Executive Rabiu Umar made the declaration on Thursday in Abuja while briefing journalists ahead of the second West Africa Refined Fuel Conference slated for August 2026.

Umar said the conference would drive efforts to establish a transparent and credible regional petroleum products pricing benchmark capable of reflecting West Africa’s market realities rather than relying on foreign price references.

He said: “The vision is to establish West Africa as a credible regional marketplace where petroleum products can be traded efficiently, transparently and competitively.”

The ACE noted that despite Africa’s enormous oil and gas resources, pricing for a large proportion of its petroleum commodities is still determined outside the continent, a situation he described as inconsistent with the region’s growing refining capacity and market potential.

The conference, organised by the NMDPRA in collaboration with S&P Global Commodity Insights and the West Africa Regulators Forum, is themed: “Funding West Africa Infrastructure and Distribution to Create a Transparent Market for Regional Price Benchmarks.”

According to Umar, the gathering will bring together regulators, investors, financial institutions and industry players to identify practical financing models for critical infrastructure needed to support transparent pricing, efficient trading and deeper regional integration.

He said discussions would…