At NMDPRA Legal Advisers’ Forum, FG Warns Oil Marketers against Profiteering

• Umar assures of certainty, predictability in regulatory environment 

•Tolorunse says regulator will build confidence, ensure fairness

Emmanuel Addeh in Abuja

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Senator Heineken Lokpobiri, yesterday warned oil marketers against exploiting the country’s deregulated petroleum market for excessive profits, stressing that the federal government would not allow deregulation to become a licence for profiteering at the expense of Nigerian consumers.

Lokpobiri, who spoke at the 2026 Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) General Counsel and Legal Advisers Forum in Abuja, maintained that while the government remained committed to a market-driven downstream sector, the regulator retained the statutory responsibility to ensure fairness, consumer protection and strict compliance with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).

The minister specifically expressed concern that despite the de-escalation of tensions involving Iran and the United States, which had eased pressure on international crude oil prices, retail prices of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) and other petroleum products had yet to reflect corresponding reductions.

According to him, market forces should ordinarily restore equilibrium, but the regulator must ensure that deregulation does not become an avenue for arbitrary pricing and excessive profiteering.

“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,” he said.

Lokpobiri also stressed that deregulation was not only about allowing prices to be determined by market forces, but also about ensuring consumers received value for money, noting that one of the regulator’s critical responsibilities is guaranteeing that consumers receive the exact quantity of petroleum products they pay for.

“When someone pays for 10 litres of Premium Motor Spirit, they should receive exactly 10 litres, not less,” he maintained.

The minister argued that the country’s petroleum industry had moved beyond merely asking whether operators were complying with regulations, insisting that regulators themselves must now be held accountable for providing clear, transparent and predictable regulatory frameworks capable of attracting long-term investments.

According to him, the more important question today is whether regulatory authorities are carrying out their responsibilities in a manner that gives investors sufficient confidence to commit capital over the long term.

He noted that while compliance would always remain the foundation of an effective regulatory system, regulatory certainty had become the next critical objective if Nigeria hoped to compete successfully for global investment.

“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,” he said.

The minister added that the full deregulation of the downstream petroleum sector under President Bola Tinubu had eliminated the era of persistent fuel shortages, paving the way for the operationalisation of the Dangote Refinery and several other refining projects currently under development.

According to him, despite recent disruptions arising from geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, petroleum products had remained available across the country since 2023, demonstrating the resilience of the deregulated market.

Lokpobiri also challenged legal advisers and general counsel in the industry to become strategic partners in regulatory reform rather than obstacles to investment, noting that legal advisers occupy a unique position at the intersection of law and commercial decision-making.

The minister urged them to go beyond simply interpreting regulations by helping to determine whether existing rules actually promote responsible investment, improve governance and deliver the objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act.

He warned against excessive legal caution that could frustrate investment opportunities, insisting that the sector would ultimately be judged by the investments attracted, jobs created and economic value generated rather than by the volume of regulations issued.

Earlier, the Authority Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, assured stakeholders that the regulator would continue to provide certainty, predictability and fairness in the implementation of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory framework.

Speaking on the theme: “Beyond Compliance: Driving Regulatory Certainty and Investment Confidence in Nigeria’s Petroleum Sector,” Umar described the forum as a critical platform for sustained engagement between the regulator and legal advisers to licensed operators.

He explained that while last year’s forum focused on collaborative compliance, the conversation had now evolved towards building regulatory certainty capable of inspiring investor confidence.

According to him, five years after the enactment of the PIA, attention had shifted from merely interpreting the provisions of the law to evaluating how effectively it was being implemented and how markets were responding to ongoing reforms.

At the two-day event which featured panel discussions, he acknowledged that implementation challenges and regulatory ambiguities occasionally arise, stressing that legal practitioners possess valuable insights that could help improve regulatory outcomes across the industry.

The NMDPRA chief pledged that under his leadership, the Authority would continue to engage openly with stakeholders, strengthen regulatory clarity and encourage responsible investment.

“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.

“We will continue to strengthen regulatory clarity, encourage responsible investment and foster the collaborative relationships that are essential to achieving the objectives of the Petroleum Industry Act,” Umar said.

Also speaking, the Secretary and Legal Adviser of the NMDPRA, Dr. Joseph Tolorunse, described regulatory certainty as a continuous journey rather than a destination, explaining that Nigeria’s petroleum reforms had progressively evolved from the enactment of the PIA through institutional transition, development of regulatory frameworks and collaborative compliance initiatives.

According to him, compliance would always remain the foundation of an effective regulatory system, but argued that the ultimate objective was building investor confidence through fair, transparent and predictable regulation.