The Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE) has said that Nigeria’s new petroleum regulatory framework must be defined by domestic refining, energy sovereignty, and production growth.

In a statement, CPPE’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr. Muda Yusuf, said: “The new leadership of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory institutions must urgently refocus sector priorities on reducing import dependence, expanding domestic capacity and catalysing investment across the entire oil and gas value chain,” adding: “These appointments present a strategic opportunity to reposition the oil and gas regulatory environment in line with the administration’s commitment to energy sovereignty, energy security, self-reliance and accelerated production growth.”

While CPPE commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the recent reset of Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory architecture through the appointment of new Chief Executive Officers for the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), it stated that domestic refining must be the priority of the downstream segment.

“In the downstream segment, strong and deliberate support for domestic refining must be an immediate and non-negotiable priority. Government policy should clearly favour locally refined petroleum products through targeted fiscal, regulatory, and infrastructural support for both public and private refineries, while actively encouraging new investments in refining capacity,” Dr Yusuf said.

According to him, Nigeria must end the current distortion whereby imported petroleum products are made to compete with locally refined products under unequal regulatory and fiscal conditions, as this does not constitute fair competition. He also noted that genuine competition only exists when all operators function within the same policy, tax, and regulatory environment.

He further said: “The NMDPRA must therefore place domestic refining at the centre of its policy framework, in line with the President’s Nigeria-First policy direction and industrialisation agenda. This is not merely to protect investors, but to safeguard Nigeria’s long-term economic interests. “A strong domestic refining base is fundamental to building a resilient, energy-secure, and sovereign economy. It is also critical for job creation, foreign exchange conservation, macroeconomic stability, and the development of export-oriented refining capacity.

“More importantly, domestic refining is a major pathway to backward integration and resource-based industrialisation. Supporting refineries strengthens Nigeria’s petrochemical, fertiliser and allied industries, thereby creating broader industrial value chains that drive inclusive growth.”

On the upstream side, he said that production growth must anchor the upstream agenda. His views: “Nigeria must urgently ramp up crude oil and gas production by implementing policies that attract fresh investments across onshore and offshore assets. This is particularly critical as the global energy transition accelerates. Nigeria must maximise the value of its hydrocarbon endowments while the opportunity still exists.

“The NUPRC should prioritise production growth, investment facilitation, and improved security, with a clear national objective of raising crude oil output to a minimum of two million barrels per day through close collaboration with industry stakeholders. Expanded investment in gas production must also be a central focus. Ensuring Compliance with domestic crude supply obligations to domestic refineries must be a priority.

“These strategic imperatives must define the direction of Nigeria’s new petroleum regulatory leadership if the sector is to drive sustainable growth, industrialisation, and long-term economic resilience effectively.”