The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) says Africa’s fuel future depends on teamwork — and no single country can carry the load on its own.

Speaking at the Global Commodity Insights Conference in Abuja, NNPC’s CEO, Bayo Ojulari, said it’s time for African countries to work together and fix the continent’s refining crisis. Despite being rich in crude oil, many African nations still rely heavily on imported refined fuel — a costly and unsustainable cycle.

“We export crude but import refined products at a premium. That model drains value, slows down industrial growth, and leaves us vulnerable,” Ojulari said.

He stressed that building an African refining hub isn’t a luxury, it’s a necessity. But it will take more than just ambition — it will require serious investment, regional partnerships, and harmonised policies across the continent.

“Vision without execution is hallucination,” Ojulari warned, urging leaders to act boldly and fix issues like poor infrastructure, weak investment, policy gaps, and a shortage of skilled manpower.

He highlighted NNPC’s own efforts: revamping local refineries, investing in the Dangote Refinery, and backing other private refining projects. But even with these moves, he said, Nigeria can’t do it alone.

“We’re laying the foundation, but real success needs a continent-wide push — shared markets, joint infrastructure, and unified regulations.”

The conference, organised with the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), aims to set up a framework for a West African fuel market. Stakeholders discussed pricing systems, refining capacity, transparency, and cross-border collaboration.

Industry players from across Africa — including regulators, oil companies, banks, refiners, and logistics firms — came together with a common goal: to stop the over-reliance on imports and take charge of Africa’s energy destiny.