The Federal Government has called for a unified regulatory framework and harmonised operating rules, technical standards and market procedures across West Africa, arguing that deeper regional integration would improve efficiency, attract investment and facilitate cross-border petroleum trade.

Commission Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, who spoke at a conference in Abuja, stressed that stronger intra-African industry collaboration had become critical as countries across the continent pursue energy sufficiency and greater independence from external petroleum supplies.

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Eyesan said the rapid transformation of the West African petroleum industry, marked by the emergence of new oil provinces, expanding gas projects and growing refining capacity, was creating an opportunity for the region to build a more self-sustaining energy market. She, however, warned that the opportunity could not be fully realised while countries continued to operate largely isolated petroleum markets.

She advocated the development of an integrated West African energy market underpinned by harmonised cross-border regulations capable of providing the commercial certainty and incentives required to stimulate investment in crude production, gas processing and refining capacity.

According to her, the integration should cover the entire petroleum value chain, from upstream exploration and production through midstream processing and transportation to downstream refining, storage and distribution.

Eyesan argued that a unified regulatory framework would reduce operational barriers, improve market efficiency, facilitate the movement of petroleum products across national borders and provide investors with a more predictable regional market.

She pointed to Nigeria’s recent growth in crude production and refining capacity as evidence of the changing dynamics of the regional petroleum market. Nigeria, she noted, had crossed its OPEC-assigned production level, while the expansion of domestic refining capacity was creating new opportunities for the country to supply refined petroleum products beyond its domestic market.

The development, she said, could enable Nigeria to emerge as a major supplier to neighbouring countries while strengthening the country’s position as a regional petroleum and energy hub.

Eyesan maintained, however, that increased national production and refining capacity would only deliver their full economic value if matched by regional cooperation, harmonised regulations and infrastructure capable of connecting producers and consumers across borders.

The need for complementary infrastructure was reinforced by the Chief Executive of the Nigeria Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Mallam Rabiu A. Umar, who called for increased investment in storage and logistics infrastructure to support the expansion of interborder petroleum trade.

Umar said the rapid growth of refining capacity must be accompanied by adequate storage facilities, pipelines, marine terminals and other logistics infrastructure required to move crude and refined products efficiently across West Africa.

He argued that Africa’s expanding refining capacity should help shield consumers from international supply disruptions and price shocks, noting that African consumers should not continue to bear the impact of external market shocks when regional refining capacity is increasingly capable of meeting local demand.

Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, similarly called for sustained investment in refining and petroleum distribution infrastructure, stressing that Nigeria had a significant opportunity to establish itself as a regional energy and trading hub.

Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, also underscored the importance of infrastructure development, transparent markets and regulatory coordination, stressing that higher petroleum production must translate into reliable and efficient regional supply.

For the government’s policy drivers and petroleum regulators, the emerging challenge is therefore shifting from simply increasing production and refining capacity to building the institutional and physical infrastructure required to connect those capacities across national borders.

A coordinated West African petroleum market would require regulators to work together on common operating rules and standards while governments and private investors develop the pipelines, storage terminals, ports and distribution networks needed to move crude and refined products seamlessly across the region.

Such integration, the government believes, could transform Nigeria’s expanding petroleum capacity from a predominantly domestic asset into a platform for regional energy security, industrial growth and cross-border trade.