Nigeria’s Refining Boom Must Be Matched by Regional Infrastructure Push, Presidency Says
Nigeria is ready to serve as a “dependable anchor” for a deeper, more competitive, and increasingly integrated West African energy market, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, special adviser to President Bola Tinubu on oil and gas, said on Tuesday.
Speaking at the second West African Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja, Verheijen delivered a sweeping vision for the region’s energy transformation, arguing that West Africa has entered a new phase where the central challenge is no longer refining capacity — but building the infrastructure, financing, regulatory systems, and transparent markets needed to move energy efficiently across borders.
“The question before us is no longer simply whether our region has the resources or refining capacity to meet its energy needs. Increasingly, we do,” she told the gathering of industry leaders, regulators, and investors. “The more important question is whether we can build the infrastructure, financing systems, regulatory institutions and transparent markets required to move energy efficiently from where it is produced to where it is needed.”
Nigeria’s refining revolution
The remarks come at a pivotal moment for Africa’s most populous nation. Under Tinubu’s administration, Nigeria has undertaken what Verheijen described as “difficult but necessary reforms” to liberalise the energy market, including the removal of fuel subsidies and foreign exchange unification.
The results, he said, are already visible: Nigeria now refines the majority of petrol consumed domestically, imports have fallen significantly, and Nigerian-refined products are increasingly reaching markets across Africa and beyond.
“Today, Nigeria refines the majority of the petrol we consume domestically,” Verheijen stated. “Imports have fallen significantly, while refined products produced in Nigeria are increasingly reaching markets across Africa and beyond.”
Infrastructure: The missing link
However, Verheijen cautioned that refining capacity alone does not create energy security. A refined product, he noted, only delivers economic value when it can be financed, stored, transported, and distributed reliably.
“Without infrastructure, supply remains stranded. Without transparent pricing, investors price uncertainty rather than opportunity. Without regulatory coordination, borders become bottlenecks rather than gateways to trade,” he warned.
The Special Adviser called for urgent investment in pipelines, ports, storage facilities, coastal vessels, trucking networks, and trading platforms to move products safely and efficiently across the region.
Towards price transparency
In one of the speech’s most ambitious proposals, Verheijen challenged the region to develop a credible pricing benchmark built on actual transactions and reliable data — one that would allow products refined in West Africa to be valued within the region rather than having to leave it first.
“Our ambition should be that a product refined in West Africa should not have to leave West Africa before the market can credibly determine its value,” he said.
The call builds on recent milestones: S&P Global Commodity Insights has opened an office in Abuja, and Platts has introduced Naira-denominated assessments for refined products produced in West Africa.
A call to action
Verheijen outlined distinct responsibilities for every stakeholder in the room. Financial institutions must develop funding structures that recognise the long-term value of energy infrastructure. Industry must invest, execute, and provide reliable transaction data. Governments must create predictable policies and eliminate unnecessary cross-border trade barriers. And regulators must balance public interest with enabling investment, innovation, and competition.
“The President’s ambition is clear: Nigeria should serve as a dependable anchor for a deeper, more competitive and increasingly integrated West African energy market,” he said.
He concluded by framing the ultimate measure of success not in trading volumes or benchmark sophistication, but in tangible outcomes: more competitive industries, reliable energy access for businesses, new investments and jobs, and affordable, predictable energy prices for families across West Africa.
“That is the purpose of our reforms. That is the promise of regional integration. And that is the responsibility entrusted to all of us gathered here today,” Verheijen said.
