The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ahmed Farouk, has hinted of plans to flag off the operations of the Africa Energy Bank (AEB) in the continent.
Farouk made this remark on Monday at the opening of the 18th edition of the Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) conference in Lagos, stressing that plans are already being finalized to establish the bank, which shall primarily provide the funds for sustainable growth of energy supply infrastructure for the continent.
According to the Executive Vice President of global trade at the African Export-Import Bank, Haytham El Maayergi, a partner in the project, the African Petroleum Producers’ Organisation (APPO) recently expressed optimism that the lender can begin operating in early 2025,.
The NMDPRA boss he said would also champion the development and adoption of a uniform gas transportation code within West and North Africa, considering the progression of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) project to Morocco, for effective movement of natural gas within the regions.
Farouk also explained that NMDPRA would explore mechanisms of facilitating the establishment of an association for Energy Regulators within West Africa which may eventually integrate with the existing East African and South African regional regulators association, into a pan African Energy Regulators association for streamlined regulations and policy formulations.
On plans to expand Nigeria’s refining sector, the industry expert said the industry had been expanding rapidly with the issuance of Nine valid License to Establish (LTEs), Seven License to Construct (LTCs) and Four LTOs for modular refineries, adding that the Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemical (DPRP), which came on-stream in February 2024, with production of some petroleum products including AGO, ATK etc, is expected that supply from the Refinery will improve significantly when it is fully completed and licensed.
Farouk assured that the NMDPRA would continue to put in place all necessary measures to actualize the full aspirations of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), including the assurance of quality and safety in the industry, strategic stakeholder engagements, and provision of regulatory support to key government initiatives such as the Decade of Gas and Pi-CNG programs.
Highlighting the significance of the OTL conference which last year focused on “Energy, Synergy and New Beginnings”, prompted Government to review the policy direction of the present administration and the strategic realities of the industry, which include the need for wider collaborations to harness huge potentials of the Africa’s energy resource; addressing the endemic challenge of energy poverty; and the critical need for project financing to bridge the deficit in infrastructure.
This year, the organizers of the conference have adopted the theme ‘Alliances for Growth – Markets, Operations and Policy’ and the keyword ‘synergy’ in the previous theme is similar to the keyword ‘alliances’ in the current theme.
With regards to alliances, Farouk said the Authority would continue its quarterly domain specific engagements (DSE) with key stakeholders, and on-demand engagements with other relevant parties to address ongoing and emerging concerns.
He said: “We shall also continue with our regional and global engagements related to assurance of energy security, and successful global energy transition.
“The NMDPRA is also working with relevant stakeholders to implement new policies on safety and compliance, especially in the CNG space, which is still in its infancy stage”, Farouk added.
