The Federal Government has said the Dangote Petroleum Refinery alone cannot meet Africa’s growing refined petroleum products needs, urging local and international investors to pour more capital into Nigeria’s refining, midstream and downstream sectors.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, said Nigeria must build on the success of the Dangote refinery and attract additional investments if it wants to move beyond supplying the West African market and become a major refined petroleum products hub for the entire continent.
Lokpobiri spoke on Tuesday at the second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja, where regulators, refiners, traders, financiers and other energy industry stakeholders gathered to advance plans for a transparent regional pricing system for refined petroleum products.
The conference was jointly hosted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, S&P Global Commodity Insights and the West Africa Regulators Forum. It was themed, “Funding West Africa Infrastructure & Distribution to Create a Transparent Market for Regional Price Benchmarks.”
The minister described the conference as a turning point in Africa’s pursuit of greater energy sovereignty, saying Nigeria must now build on the progress recorded in its refining and midstream sectors.
