Nigeria's NMDPRA Calls for African Fuel Pricing Benchmark

The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) announced that it is exploring the creation of a credible African reference price benchmark for crude oil and refined fuels. Chief Executive Rabiu Umar made the remarks at a press briefing in Abuja, stressing that regional pricing would better reflect local market realities, logistics costs and supply‑demand balances, and would reduce dependence on external indices.

Umar cited Europe’s Amsterdam‑Rotterdam‑Antwerp (ARA) hub as a model and urged West African countries to develop a similar regional trading centre to improve price discovery and attract investment in refining, logistics and cross‑border petroleum trade. The announcement precedes the second West Africa Refined Fuel Conference, where the authority hopes to draw investors to build the necessary infrastructure for a transparent and competitive pricing hub.