Dangote refinery spurs West Africa fuel trading hub ambitions

West African energy regulators are stepping up plans for a regional fuel pricing benchmark and ​trading hub, betting that a wave of new refining ‌capacity led by Nigeria's Dangote refinery can give Africa a greater role in fuel price discovery and trade, Nigeria's regulator said on Tuesday.

Speaking ​at the regional refined fuel market conference, Rabiu Umar, ​chief executive of Nigeria's Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory ⁠Authority, said the start-up of the 650,000 bpd Dangote ​refinery in 2024 was reshaping regional fuel supply chains and strengthening ​the case for a West African pricing and trading ecosystem independent of foreign benchmarks.

The regulator said West Africa had ‌made ⁠progress towards establishing a regional refined-products benchmark market, citing closer collaboration with S&P Global Commodity Insights.