The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority has disclosed that negotiations to establish a unified fuel quality standard across the Economic Community of West African States have reached an advanced stage, as the region pushes towards a more integrated petroleum market.
NMDPRA Chief Executive, Rabiu Umar, who is also Chairman of the West Africa Regulators’ Forum, disclosed this on Wednesday during an interaction with journalists on the sidelines of the second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja. He said regional integration would allow member states to leverage their respective strengths while reducing unnecessary duplication of infrastructure.
“That way there will not be duplication of every single infrastructure,” Umar said, confirming that discussions within ECOWAS on harmonising fuel quality standards “have reached an advanced stage.”
According to him, standardising product quality must come before establishing a regional price benchmark because differences in fuel specifications translate directly into differences in value. “So if you have 50 PPM product or you have a 200 PPM product, they don’t price the same way,” he said. “So the first thing we are trying to do, through the West Africa Regulators Forum, is to make sure that there is uniformity in terms of the product quality specification.”
Umar said the next challenge would be ensuring sufficient market liquidity, noting that a functioning regional benchmark would require adequate volumes of petroleum products to support transparent trading. He pointed to the growing influence of Dangote Refinery on regional product flows, saying, “We’ve seen products now moving from Africa, going to Europe.” He added that sustaining investment and expanding refining capacity would be critical to creating the liquidity required for an African trading hub.
The NMDPRA chief also stressed that an integrated market would ultimately require the free movement of petroleum products across West African borders. The development comes as ECOWAS continues efforts to implement its harmonised specifications for gasoline and diesel and strengthen cooperation among national regulators, refineries and petroleum institutions.
Head of Platts at S&P Global Energy, Vera Blei, said a regional price benchmark was achievable but would require coordinated action from governments, regulators and industry participants. “It’s for the industry to choose to make the benchmarks,” she said, adding that stakeholders must determine whether to rely on existing global references or collectively develop benchmarks that reflect the realities of the West African market.
Blei cautioned that the process would not happen overnight, saying stakeholders would have to “think collectively” about how to establish and adopt a credible regional benchmark. Her comments underline the distinction between harmonising product specifications and creating a functioning regional pricing mechanism, which would also depend on liquidity, transparent trading and reliable cross-border supply.
The ECOWAS framework dates back to Directive C/DIR.1/9/2020, adopted by the Council of Ministers in September 2020, which established common specifications for gasoline and diesel, including a 50 parts-per-million sulphur limit. A July 13–15 study tour in Accra, Ghana, involving regional petroleum regulators, ministries, national oil companies and refineries focused on enforcement of the directive and the practical challenges of implementing the common standards across member states.