Regulators and industry stakeholders across Africa have renewed calls for regional regulatory harmonisation, investment in infrastructure, and policy consistency to drive energy sustainability and competitiveness across the continent’s oil and gas markets.
Speaking at the ongoing 19th Oil Trading and Logistics (OTL) Africa Downstream Energy Week 2025 in Lagos, themed “Energy Sustainability: Growth Beyond Boundaries and Competition,” stakeholders emphasised that Africa’s fragmented regulatory frameworks and inconsistent energy policies continue to hinder market integration and long-term growth, despite vast natural resource potential.
Delivering the opening remarks, Chairman of the OTL Advisory Board, Adetunji Oyebanji, said the global energy industry is once again at an inflexion point, with shifting geopolitical dynamics reshaping supply chains and investment flows. He noted that Africa must reposition itself not just as a supplier of crude oil but as a hub for innovation, efficiency, and value addition.
“Energy sustainability is not merely about preserving resources; it is about ensuring that our growth today does not compromise the prosperity of tomorrow. We must build an industry that is competitive, responsible, and adaptable to a rapidly changing global environment,” he said.
Oyebanji stressed that achieving growth beyond boundaries would require deepened regional cooperation, technological innovation, and human capacity development, adding that policy stability remained a critical pillar for investor confidence in Africa’s downstream sector.
He noted that while deregulation and subsidy removal had created short-term turbulence, they were necessary steps towards building a transparent and competitive petroleum market.
Director-General of Sierra Leone’s National Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NPRA), Brima M. Baluwa Koroma, described Africa’s oil and gas market as being at a pivotal juncture, marked by rising energy demand, technological advancement, and the urgent need for coordinated regulation.
Koroma said that without policy harmony, Africa’s diverse and often conflicting regulatory regimes would continue to weaken collective bargaining power, deter investment, and perpetuate inefficiencies in pricing and supply.
“Our market is so closed that the region does not need significant regulatory divergence but policy harmony. The fragmentation of laws, standards, licensing systems, and tax regimes across Africa weakens our collective leverage and stifles investment.” Koroma said.
“Regional regulatory integration will promote predictability and stability. A predictable regime will reduce uncertainty in the regulatory landscape, spur investment, and build a unified African oil and gas market,” Koroma added.
He outlined a five-step pathway to integration, including developing a harmonised petroleum regulatory framework, ensuring flexibility to adapt to evolving market conditions, and facilitating cross-border infrastructure projects such as shared refineries and pipelines.
Also speaking, Director of Petroleum at The Gambia’s Public Utilities Regulatory Authority, Musa Njie, said harmonisation remained vital for smaller economies like The Gambia, which are entirely dependent on imported petroleum products.
He explained that aligning regulatory and institutional frameworks with ECOWAS directives would strengthen energy security, attract investment, and enhance The Gambia’s prospects of becoming a re-export and transit hub within West Africa.
“Harmonisation makes The Gambia’s market more attractive to investors by providing clear, consistent, and predictable regulations. It supports our ambition to become a strategic energy hub through joint infrastructure development and policy coordination,” he added.
Njie said ongoing digitalisation efforts, including new inspection and licensing systems, reflect The Gambia’s transition toward a smarter and safer petroleum sector, while investments in testing and certification capacity would enhance fuel quality assurance across the region.
