Stakeholders at OTL Africa Downstream Energy Week have called for a review of feedstock strategies to address supply gaps facing local refineries and ensure that increased refining capacity delivers reliable and affordable fuel.
Speaking at the opening ceremony in Lagos on Monday, the Chairman of the event’s Advisory Board, Otunba Adetunji Oyebanji, said Africa’s expanding refining capacity offered significant opportunities, but its benefits depended on dependable crude supplies, efficient operations and effective links between production and demand.
He stressed that refining investments could not succeed in isolation from the infrastructure, financing and regulatory conditions needed to sustain them.
A refinery, he said, required reliable feedstock and customers, while storage terminals depended on efficient transport connections. Across the value chain, investors needed rules that sustained confidence.
Oyebanji noted that cleaner fuels, gas, renewables and changing mobility choices were also reshaping investment decisions across the continent.
Although the pace of change would differ among countries, he said stakeholders had a shared responsibility to develop commercially viable options suited to African purchasing power, infrastructure and industrial needs, while improving safety and environmental performance.
According to him, businesses needed opportunities to compare experiences, understand policy direction and identify partners before committing scarce capital. Governments, in turn, required a clearer understanding of the conditions under which investments could deliver reliable services to consumers.
He said the conference programme would address these issues through discussions on regulatory convergence, regional fuel markets, competition, refinery competitiveness and emerging energy opportunities.
The Regulatory Convergence session and the West African Fuels Congress would examine how national frameworks and regional markets could work more effectively together.
Discussions on competition in Nigeria’s evolving downstream market would consider the balance between investment, market power and consumer protection.
Other sessions would explore integration across the energy value chain, feedstock security, changing customer behaviour and the infrastructure required to expand gas and renewable energy options.
Oyebanji acknowledged that significant challenges remained, including heavy import dependence in some markets, uneven infrastructure and foreign exchange constraints.
“There is much still to address. Some markets remain heavily import dependent, infrastructure is uneven, and foreign exchange constraints continue to complicate trade. Investment has not everywhere translated into affordable supply. Yet there is sufficient progress to justify confidence, provided we remain honest about the work ahead,” he said.
Citing the International Energy Agency’s October assessment, he highlighted continuing pressure on diesel supplies and exceptionally high freight costs.
He said African businesses were experiencing these pressures through more expensive cargoes, increased working-capital requirements and uncertainty over delivery schedules.
“For our markets, the implications extend beyond the price of crude. Access to suitable tankers, insurance, trade finance and reliable supply partners can determine whether products arrive when they are needed,” he said.
Also speaking at the event, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said Nigeria’s downstream industry had changed significantly over the past three years, following the removal of the fuel subsidy and the opening of the market to private investment.
Citing regulatory data, he said the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki produced approximately 42 million litres of petrol daily in August, while petrol imports fell by 26 per cent to about 14.6 million litres daily.
Sanwo-Olu described the shift as meaningful progress for a country that had relied on imports for most of its petrol only a few years earlier.
However, he cautioned that increased refinery production alone should not be treated as the final measure of success.
“The measure is whether product is available where and when Nigerians need it, and what they pay for it,” he said.
The governor noted that energy costs remained high for many households and businesses, calling for continued efforts to build a market that was reliable, competitive and affordable.