Challenges of The Regulation Work Group

Transcription

1 Challenges of The Regulation Work Group Cape Town, South Africa March 13 th, 2017 The voice The of voice african of african downstream downstream oil oil La 1 voix de l'aval pétrolier africain

2 Outline 1. Introduction 2. Focus of the RWG in achieving clean fuels 3. Challenges of RWG 4. Way forward 5. Conclusion 2

3 Introduction RWG was constituted in 2010 in Nairobi, Kenya Objectives: bring together regulators in various countries to share/exchange information on best practices 11 meetings held so far. Meetings attended by representatives of Governments, Energy Regulators, Operators in the industry and other International professionals Focus on best practice for regulation for the African petroleum supply chain, from port to pump including refining 3

4 Introduction Regulation of downstream operations is at varying stages of development in different African countries Countries with dedicated independent downstream regulatory authorities include Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, South Africa* (storage and pipelines), Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe Regulation in most of the other countries lies directly with Government s Ministries of Energy, e.g. Algeria, Angola, Cameroon, Cote d Ivoire, Gabon, Mauritania, Nigeria, South Africa* (refining and retail), Togo and Uganda 4

5 Focus of the RWG in achieving clean fuels Enhancing the process of Harmonisation of regional fuel specifications in line with ARA roadmap Respective regulators should drive the project Political will of Governments is key: eg investment in refineries. Regulators should engage governments Availability of adequate infrastructure Availability of Standards and Regulations - covering whole supply chain Enforcement of standards and regulations 5

6 RWG challenges How to ensure stable, sustainable regulatory regimes to encourage continued improvements in the downstream petroleum sector. (change in governments in some countries lead to changes in direction of policies in regulation- loss in investor and financial institutions confidence) How to ensure that petroleum infrastructure is maintained at required standards. (Do we have the requisite standards, expertise etc? What should be done?) How to ensure stable supplies of petroleum products are available across the countries (what will be the impact of different specifications?) 6

7 RWG challenges How to reward and police improved efficiency and safety down the African petroleum supply chain? How do we deal with smuggling and imports of substandard products through unapproved routes? How do we create a culture of transparency? How do we avoid regulatory capture? How do we deal with low knowledge and skills of operators in the industry? 7

8 Way forward Development of clear national policies that transcends governments Sharing best practice among regulators on regulations, compliance, enforcement etc Discussion suggestion from the Gaborone S&D Forum (of 2015): Organize a two-day workshop where NAMCOR (NAMBIA), BOL (BOTSWANA), OTS (KENYA) and PBPA (TANZANIA) representatives could deliberate and share experiences of their product importation systems Enhancing regional harmonization of product quality standards to improve cross border product trading between neighbouring countries 8

9 Way forward Ensure transparent regulatory regimes including market petroleum products pricing based on import parity principle Need to establish robust training programs to change the culture of the industry towards both efficiency and safety Upgrade standards and enforcement of an HSEQ culture in order to assure safe, secure and sustainable operations throughout the petroleum products supply chain 9

10 Way forward Provide adequate testing equipment/laboratories Promotion of regional specifications and tax regimes Undertake petroleum products quality control programmes e.g. fuel marking programmes (curbing fuel adulteration and dumping of transit and tax exempted petroleum products etc) Countries to engage UNEP to accelerate harmonization of standards eg UNEP gave traction to the process involving Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique and Malawi 10

11 CONCLUSION Sub-regional regulators must pursue the harmonization of the fuel specifications in line with AFRI fuel specifications road map Members of the RWG must continue sharing experiences and also determine common strategies aimed at dealing with these identified challenges Regular participation by all regulator members at RWG meetings is needed All are welcome to our meetings, not just regulators 11

12 Thank you 12