West Africa could build a $3tn cumulative energy market by 2035 if the region’s 16 countries move away from fragmented national energy systems and embrace a connected regional market, Chairman of Rosehill Group Limited Advisory Limited, Suleiman Yahyah, has said. Speaking at the second West Africa Refined Fuel Market Conference in Abuja, Yahyah argued that stronger regional integration could help the region turn its vast energy resources into greater economic value.
According to the energy expert, West Africa needs to stop thinking mainly in terms of individual projects and start building a complete market system where energy, capital and information can move efficiently across borders. He proposed common product specifications, shared data standards, modern energy contracts, regional infrastructure and a unified dispute resolution system. Such measures, he said, would make it easier for companies licensed in one West African country to operate and trade in another.
Yahyah also highlighted the region’s energy-access challenge, noting that its huge population and significant oil and gas resources have not translated into affordable and clean energy for millions of people. He estimated that about 45 per cent of West Africans remain in energy poverty, while roughly 75 per cent lack access to clean power. Rather than focusing only on producing more oil and gas, he said West Africa must capture more value from energy trading, pricing, data, technology, risk management and financial markets.
The Rosehill Group chairman suggested that countries could take on specialised roles within an integrated regional market, based on their existing strengths. He identified Senegal as a potential western gateway, Abidjan as a commercial and logistics hub, Ghana as a balancing and storage centre, and Lagos as an Atlantic hub for liquidity and refining. In his view, connecting these centres could create the scale and liquidity needed to link West Africa more effectively with global energy trading platforms and attract international investment.
The proposal comes as regulators, refiners, traders and financiers step up efforts to establish a more transparent regional market for refined petroleum products. The conference, jointly hosted by the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, S&P Global Commodity Insights and the West Africa Regulators Forum, is focused on funding infrastructure and creating regional price benchmarks. With new refining capacity in Nigeria changing the region’s supply outlook, Yahyah believes the next big opportunity is not simply producing more energy, but building the systems that allow West Africa to trade, price and finance its resources more efficiently. If achieved, regional integration could help transform the region from a collection of separate energy markets into a powerful marketplace capable of retaining more of the wealth generated from its resources.
source: punch
