The Director General of Sierra Leone’s National Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Brima Baluwa Koroma, has called for the establishment of a Regional Reference Market during the Inaugural Downstream Regulators Conference held in Abuja, Nigeria from 22nd to 23rd July 2025.
The landmark conference, organized by Platts S&P Global in partnership with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), brought together key stakeholders in the African petroleum sector. Attendees included energy regulators, refiners, marketing companies, and industry experts from across the continent. Prominent participants included the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), SONAP, NPA, and Dangote Petroleum Refinery the largest refinery in Africa and the sixth-largest in the world.
The conference aimed to address emerging global energy challenges, focusing on energy security, sustainability, and efficiency in Africa’s refined fuel market. Discussions centered around tackling supply chain inefficiencies, fuel pricing volatility, and quality disparities while also exploring the need for policy harmonization and regional cooperation.
In his keynote address, Brima Baluwa Koroma emphasized Sierra Leone’s petroleum sector advancements over the past six years, describing them as a foundation for broader engagement within Africa’s energy landscape.
“In a region where over 70% of refined petroleum products are imported, despite abundant hydrocarbon resources, fuel costs account for over 40% of national import bills in some ECOWAS countries,” he said. “This places a heavy burden on governments and citizens alike.”
He warned that fragmentation of laws, policies, standards, and tax regimes across West Africa is weakening the region’s bargaining power and hindering investment. According to him, this disunity has led to cross-border inconsistencies in fuel trade, uncoordinated subsidy policies, unfair competition, and regulatory arbitrage ultimately eroding investor confidence.
“As regulators, we face common challenges price volatility, global supply disruptions, limited refining capacity, infrastructural deficits, and inconsistent regulations,” Koroma noted. “These challenges are not new, but the growing consensus is: regional integration is not optional it’s urgent and essential.”
He proposed the institutionalization of a regional technical group of downstream regulators to share best practices, align policies, and promote joint initiatives. Drawing inspiration from East Africa and the Southern African Development Community (SADC), he advocated for the creation of shared frameworks and regional fuel benchmarks.
On the sidelines of the conference, the NPRA Director General held bilateral engagements with fellow regulators, promoting Sierra Leone as a strategic partner for petroleum development and storage in the region.
He also voiced full support for the development of a regional fuel pricing benchmark and broader regulatory alignment to streamline trade and improve competitiveness across Africa.
In a significant outcome, the African Downstream Regulators Association was officially established during the conference. Founding members include regulatory bodies from Nigeria (NMDPRA), Côte d’Ivoire (DGH), Sierra Leone (NPRA), Guinea (SONAP), Ghana (NPA), Niger (ARSE), Cameroon (CSPH), Mauritania (CNHY), Madagascar (OMH), Uganda (PAU), Zambia (ERB), Tanzania (EWURA), Senegal (CRSE), The Gambia (PURA), Zimbabwe (ZERA), Malawi (MERA), Chad (ARSAT), Angola (IRDP), Kenya (EPRA), and Eswatini (ESERA).
The association aims to harmonize the African downstream petroleum market, enhance regulatory cooperation, and accelerate progress toward a more resilient and self-sufficient energy sector in Africa.
