The Lagos Commodities and Futures Exchange has secured a licence from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority to facilitate the trading and clearing of petroleum liquids, in a development expected to deepen price discovery, transparency and investment in Nigeria’s energy market.
The approval provides LCFE with the regulatory foundation to establish a structured marketplace for petroleum liquids, linking the physical petroleum market with Nigeria’s capital market through regulated trading, clearing and settlement infrastructure.
The licence was unveiled in Abuja on Tuesday at a stakeholder event attended by senior representatives of the NMDPRA, Securities and Exchange Commission, S&P Global Ratings, Central Securities Clearing System, Alliance Law Firm, and other capital and energy market operators.
Already, no fewer than ten petroleum liquid traders have committed to participating in the exchange, providing an initial pool of market participants for the development of the new trading ecosystem.
Speaking at the event, the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of LCFE, Akin Akeredolu-Ale, said the approval marked a defining moment for Nigeria’s commodities market, noting that the infrastructure required to support petroleum liquids trading was falling into place.
He said, “The issuance of this licence marks a defining moment for Nigeria’s commodities market. It gives us the regulatory foundation to bring petroleum liquids into a transparent, structured, and technology-enabled marketplace, connecting the physical energy market with Nigeria’s capital market.”
Akeredolu-Ale said the emerging market architecture would incorporate technology-enabled trading, two-way quotations, contract trading and settlement, as well as licensed collateral managers to strengthen oversight and risk management.
The development comes as Nigeria’s petroleum industry undergoes significant structural changes following the implementation of the Petroleum Industry Act, full deregulation of the downstream market and the commencement of operations at the Dangote Petroleum Refinery.
The Chief Executive of NMDPRA, Rabiu Umar, noted that the authority’s priority was to create a predictable, equitable and transparent regulatory environment capable of attracting investment and supporting sustainable growth in the energy sector.
According to him, the PIA, market deregulation and the emergence of large-scale domestic refining capacity have fundamentally altered Nigeria’s position in the global energy landscape.
Also speaking, the Director-General of SEC, Dr Emomotimi Agama, commended LCFE for pursuing the initiative, describing it as a transformative opportunity for Nigeria’s commodities and capital markets.
On her part, S&P Global Ratings’ Managing Director, Africa Research & Analytics and Country Head, South Africa, Samera Mensah, stressed the importance of credible market infrastructure, transparent pricing benchmarks and credit ratings in building investor confidence.
She added that S&P’s reclassification of Nigeria from a frontier market to an emerging market aligns with the Federal Government’s target to expand the economy to $1tn.
Similarly, the Division Head, Business Services & Client Experience at CSCS, Onome Komolafe, assured stakeholders that the financial market infrastructure provider would support the new market through its depository, clearing and settlement capabilities, including digital asset recording.
In his remarks, the Founder and Managing Partner of Alliance Law Firm, Uche Obi, described the licence as a major legal and regulatory milestone that underscores the regulatory and institutional capacity backing the platform.
Market watchers have described the NMDPRA approval as a landmark step in LCFE’s broader vision to transform Nigeria’s commodities landscape and position the exchange as a premier energy trading hub in Africa.
SOURCE: PUNCH NEWS PAPER
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