...says easing global tensions should reflect in pump prices
…warns deregulation must not become an avenue for profiteering
The Federal Government has queried the delay in the reduction of petrol prices despite the easing of global oil market tensions, following the de-escalation of the Iran-United States (US) crisis.
While warning that deregulation must not be exploited for profiteering by marketers at the expense of Nigerians, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Sen. Heineken Lokpobiri, said although market forces would ultimately determine prices in a deregulated environment, regulators have a statutory obligation to ensure consumers are protected from unfair practices.
Speaking at the 2026 Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum themed: “Beyond Compliance: Driving Regulatory Certainty and Investment Confidence in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector,” on Monday in Abuja, the minister noted that the recent de-escalation of tensions involving Iran and the United States ought to have triggered corresponding reductions in pump prices.
He said: “Following the de-escalation of tensions between Iran and the United States, we expected to see commensurate downward adjustment in the prices of PMS and other petroleum products. However, that has not yet happened.
“While we believe that market forces will eventually restore equilibrium, the regulator also has a statutory responsibility to ensure that deregulation does not become an avenue for profiteering. This must be done in line with the extant provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act.”
Lokpobiri also stressed that beyond price moderation, regulators must ensure consumers receive value for money at filling stations across the country.
“Beyond allowing prices to be determined by market forces, the question is: what is the regulator doing to ensure that consumers receive the correct quantity of product? When someone pays for 10 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, they should receive exactly 10 litres, not less.”
The minister, however, maintained that Nigeria’s petroleum industry was becoming increasingly attractive to investors, arguing that the country was competing favourably with other oil-producing jurisdictions despite global economic uncertainties and energy transition pressures.
According to him, investor confidence would depend not merely on compliance by operators but on the ability of regulatory institutions to provide certainty, consistency and predictability.
“The more consequential question today is this: are our regulatory authorities doing their job? Is it clear, consistent and predictable enough to give investors the confidence they need to commit capital, not just for one cycle, but for the long term?
“Compliance is the foundation. Regulatory certainty is the ceiling we must now be building toward.”
Lokpobiri said the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) had already laid the legal foundation for the transformation of the sector but noted that stakeholders must now build the institutions and culture required to make the reforms meaningful to investors.
“The PIA gave us the architecture. What we must now build is the culture, the institutional habits, the interpretive discipline and the regulatory character that make the law’s objectives real for every investor evaluating Nigeria against any other destination in the world.”
Speaking further, the minister credited President Bola Tinubu’s decision to fully deregulate the sector with ending perennial fuel scarcity and creating the environment for large-scale refining investments, including the Dangote Refinery.
“The sector is now fully deregulated, a bold reform that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu dared to implement. That decision has paved the way for the operationalisation of the Dangote Refinery and other refinery projects currently underway.
He noted that despite disruptions caused by the recent Middle East crisis, Nigeria had maintained steady product availability nationwide since 2023.
On the role of legal practitioners in the industry, Lokpobiri urged general counsels and legal advisers to move beyond merely interpreting regulations and become strategic partners in improving the investment climate.
“The modern General Counsel is not a gatekeeper. The modern General Counsel is a strategic partner in commercial decision-making, in regulatory design and in national development.”
He warned lawyers against allowing excessive caution to become an obstacle to investment and industry growth.
“Do not become stumbling blocks. Do not allow the instinct toward caution, which is entirely legitimate in legal practice, to harden into an instinct toward obstruction,” the minister cautioned.
Earlier, the Authority Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, said the regulator was committed to strengthening transparency, fairness and stakeholder engagement to deepen investor confidence in the industry.
Umar described the forum as a platform for honest conversations between the regulator and operators, stressing that effective regulation could not be achieved through laws and guidelines alone.
“Compliance, while essential, is not an end in itself. Compliance was and remains the foundation. The broader objective is to create a petroleum industry characterised by certainty, predictability, transparency and confidence,” he said.
According to him, five years after the enactment of the PIA, attention was shifting from what the law says to how it is implemented and how investors perceive Nigeria’s investment environment.
“The focus is increasingly on how the law is being implemented, how regulations are operating in practice, how markets are responding to reforms and how investors are assessing opportunities.”
The NMDPRA boss assured industry players that under his leadership, the Authority would continue to engage openly with stakeholders and regulate the sector fairly and consistently.
“I stand before you today to make a commitment that the Authority will continue to engage openly with stakeholders, act transparently, regulate fairly and consistently, and remain responsive to the realities of an evolving industry.”
