ECOWAS fuel standard talks at advanced stage, NMDPRA says
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says negotiations on a unified fuel standard within ECOWAS have reached an advanced stage. The disclosure was made on Wednesday by NMDPRA Chief Executive Rabiu Umar on the sidelines of the second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja.
Umar, who also chairs the West Africa Regulators Forum (WARF), said the region must move towards integration so each country can leverage its strengths. He warned against duplicating infrastructure across the region.
Quality first, liquidity next
Umar told journalists that conversations through ECOWAS to unify fuel quality standards have reached an advanced stage. He said the first step is to unify product quality, because different quality grades do not price the same way.
“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.”
The next step, he said, is liquidity. “Because if you do not have the molecules, it’s difficult to have a price benchmark.”
He acknowledged that Nigeria has some inefficient refineries, but noted that the country hosts the largest single refinery in Nigeria. Because of that, the Dangote refinery is significantly changing the flow of products.
“We’ve seen products now moving from Africa, going to Europe,” he said. He added that the next move is to ensure investments are sustained as the nation grows in capacity. “That’s the only way you can have the required liquidity to have a trading hub in Africa.”
Umar stressed that free movement of petroleum products across borders is necessary for an integrated market to work.
Platts sees regional benchmark as achievable
Asked by Nairametrics whether a regional price benchmark is achievable, Vera Blei, Head of Platts at S&P Global Energy, said it is achievable, but stakeholders must come together.
“It’s for the industry to choose to make the benchmarks. And what do I mean by that? So, first of all, it’s about what can the authorities, what can regulators, what can governments do, using these prices as references for different domestic formulas, or whatever it may be?” she said.
“And it is for the industry to decide whether they want to use the benchmarks that are available in the global market, or really embrace and make the region grow.”
She said the regional price benchmark will not happen overnight, and stakeholders must “think collectively” about the pathway to achieving it.
ECOWAS fuel quality directive in focus
The ECOWAS Directorate of Energy and Mines recently organised a study tour from July 13 to 15, 2026, in Accra, Ghana. The tour focused on implementing ECOWAS Directive C/DIR.1/9/2020 on Harmonized Specifications for Automotive Fuels, covering gasoline and diesel, and fuel quality enforcement.
Participants included senior officials from ECOWAS member states’ hydrocarbon ministries, downstream petroleum regulators, national petroleum companies, and refineries. The goal was to exchange best practices, identify common implementation challenges, and strengthen cooperation.
ECOWAS Directive C/DIR.1/9/2020 was adopted in September 2020 by the ECOWAS Council of Ministers. It sets common specifications for gasoline and diesel across member states, including a sulphur content limit of 50 ppm.
The framework is expected to reduce harmful vehicle emissions, protect public health, facilitate cross-border petroleum trade, discourage substandard fuels, and create a more integrated regional petroleum market.
For Nigerian businesses, a unified fuel standard could remove barriers to regional exports and strengthen the position of the Dangote refinery as a major supplier to West Africa. It also opens the door for a regional pricing hub, which could give Nigerian refined products a clearer value benchmark across the continent.