The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) on Monday convened stakeholders and marketers following several reactions to its proposed Prevention of Anti-Competitive Practices and Behaviour Regulations 2026.
The stakeholders’ meeting, which featured oil and gas stakeholders, was held at the NMDPRA headquarters in Abuja and was attended by Nairametrics.
The development comes days after the Authority announced that it was proposing new rules that would prohibit petroleum companies from coordinating fuel prices, restricting supply, or engaging in market-sharing arrangements that distort competition across Nigeria’s midstream and downstream oil and gas sector.
The draft framework was designed to strengthen competition, prevent abuse of market power, and ensure a more transparent and competitive petroleum market.
Nairametrics gathered on Monday that, following the release of the draft regulations, about 20 comments had been forwarded to the Authority by different companies and stakeholders.
Speaking at the gathering, the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, said the proposed regulations were intended to prevent abuse of dominance while ensuring fair and non-discriminatory access to petroleum infrastructure.
He assured stakeholders that the final draft of the regulations would promote transparency, market efficiency, investment, and innovation in the sector.
He urged stakeholders to put forward more reviews and recommendations on the proposed framework and identify provisions that required clarification, refinement, or practical alternatives.
He stressed that the mandates of both institutions were complementary, adding that the partnership between the two institutions would deepen regulatory coordination in the midstream and downstream petroleum industry.
He also highlighted that the regulations would address situations where a dominant operator controls essential infrastructure such as pipelines, terminals, storage facilities, supply channels, or market information.
According to him, with the final draft, the Authority would have a stronger framework to intervene in issues involving market power, infrastructure access, capacity allocation, and discriminatory practices.
However, he warned against creating jurisdictional conflicts or duplication between the NMDPRA and FCCPC.
The meeting came just weeks after allegations of coordinated fuel pricing resurfaced in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum market.
The draft further proposes tighter scrutiny of tying and bundling arrangements, where companies with significant market power require dealers or buyers to purchase unrelated products or services as a condition for accessing fuel supply or infrastructure services.
The proposed anti-competitive regulations form part of a broader set of reforms through which the NMDPRA has been reshaping the regulatory framework for Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sector.
In recent years, the Authority has introduced regulations covering environmental protection, operational safety, decommissioning of petroleum facilities, and environmental remediation funding, all aimed at improving industry standards, regulatory oversight, and long-term sustainability.
More recently, the NMDPRA also said it was exploring pathways for establishing a credible African reference price benchmark that reflects regional market realities and supports more transparent pricing mechanisms across the petroleum value chain.
