The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) has been accused of failing to enforce critical provisions of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), particularly regarding sulphur limits, fuel quality standards, and regulatory frameworks guiding the oil market.

Speaking on Live television, economist Kelvin Emmanuel said the regulator’s inaction has created an uneven playing field for local refiners, allowing foreign traders to flood the Nigerian market with substandard fuel.

“The NMDPRA has failed to enforce the PIA on sulphur limits. It has also failed to provide a framework for regulating octane levels, distillation levels, cloud point for diesel, and flash point for diesel,” Emmanuel said.“This has created unfair competition, with traders importing products that fall below the regulatory standards approved for the industry.”

Emmanuel explained that the recent federal directive imposing a 15% import duty on petrol aligns with Article 6 of the World Trade Organization (WTO) charter on countervailing and anti-dumping measures, which protects domestic industries from harmful imports.

“The 15% ad valorem import duty on petrol is consistent with WTO guidelines on countervailing and anti-dumping measures, especially when domestic industries are materially harmed by imports,” he noted.

He further highlighted that the NMDPRA lacks standard ASTM laboratories, relying instead on third-party companies to test fuel quality a system that, according to Emmanuel, leaves room for manipulation and price distortion.

“Because certificates of quality determine the price, companies buy condensate in Eastern Europe, refine it, and often send it to Lome for blending,” he said.

Emmanuel warned that Togo now controls a significant portion of Nigeria’s energy security, with over 2 million metric tons (approximately 2.6 billion liters) of floating storage and offloading (FSO) capacity being used for blending. He added that FSOs lack the hydrotreating capacity to remove sulphur, resulting in high-sulphur fuels entering Nigeria in violation of ECOWAS’ sulphur limit of 50 parts per million.

“The imported fuel grade should cost below ₦500 per litre, but pricing at import parity forces domestic refiners, who comply with PIA standards, into an uncompetitive position,” Emmanuel said.

He also noted that the new presidential policy directive is intended to enforce Section 317(7) of the PIA, which mandates the NMDPRA to implement a backward integration plan for midstream refining or require importers to source products from local refineries.

The comments follow President Bola Tinubu’s approval of a 15% import duty on diesel and premium motor spirits, a measure aimed at strengthening domestic refineries, stabilizing the downstream sector, and ensuring compliance with local refining standards.