By Adedapo Adesanya

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Mr Heineken Lokpobiri, has acknowledged that the country still depends on imported petroleum products as domestic refining cannot fully meet local demand.

Speaking on the state of the downstream sector at the CERAWeek by S&P Global Conference in Houston, Texas, Mr Lokpobiri acknowledged that while local refining capacity has improved significantly, it remains insufficient to fully cover national consumption.

The Minister noted that Nigeria was making measurable progress, with domestic refining contributing a growing share of supply, but added that imports remain a critical component of the country’s fuel supply mix for now.

“We are not yet at a point where local production alone can satisfy total consumption,” he said, underscoring the need to sustain imports while capacity continues to build.

The Minister emphasised that Nigeria’s daily fuel consumption stands at about 50 million litres, while domestic refining output remains below that level, making imports necessary to bridge the shortfall and ensure supply stability.

Data from the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) aligns with this position, showing that although local refining volumes have risen in recent months, they are not yet sufficient to fully meet national demand.

Dangote refinery had earlier this year said it can supply 75 million litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) daily against an estimated national consumption of 50 million litres, alongside 25 million litres of Automotive Gas Oil (AGO) compared with an estimated daily demand of 14 million litres.

It also stated that it has the capacity to supply 20 million litres of aviation fuel daily, far above the estimated maximum domestic consumption of four million litres.

According to the refinery, the availability of volumes above prevailing demand provides critical supply buffers, enhances market stability and reduces reliance on imports, particularly during periods of peak demand or logistical disruption.

The minister highlighted what he described as a fundamental shift in Nigeria’s petroleum sector following recent reforms.

He noted that Nigeria has moved away from a subsidy-driven regime that, for years, placed a heavy fiscal burden on the country and distorted the downstream market.

According to him, the removal of subsidies has not only eased pressure on government finances but also curtailed widespread fuel smuggling and arbitrage that previously thrived under price differentials.

Mr Lokpobiri said the deregulation of the downstream sector is beginning to deliver results, with a more transparent and competitive market structure emerging. This, he added, is helping to restore investor confidence and attract new investments into refining and related infrastructure.

The minister also pointed to ongoing efforts to rehabilitate existing refineries and support new refining projects, noting that these initiatives are critical to closing the gap between production and consumption.

He emphasised that while Nigeria is making steady progress toward boosting domestic refining capacity, noting that the transition will take time to sustain investment and policy consistency.

At the same time, Mr Lokpobiri underscored Nigeria’s ambition to evolve beyond meeting local demand to becoming a supplier of refined petroleum products within the West African region.

However, he maintained that achieving that goal depends first on significantly expanding domestic capacity.

By Adedapo Adesanya

Nigeria is targeting cutting port delays, reducing costs, and improving efficiency in import and export processes with the National Single Window (NSW), a major digital trade reform.

The reform initiative is designed to address cargo dwell time, eliminate multiple agency visits and process duplication, and reduce human interference and operational bottlenecks.

The Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, speaking in Lagos, explained that the initiative, alongside the upgrade of Apapa and Tin Can Island ports, represents a turning point in Nigeria’s trade and economic trajectory.

Mr Edun said that as of 2025, cargo dwell time at Nigerian ports averages between 18 and 21 days, about 475 per cent higher than the global average of four days, resulting in high costs of doing business, delays for importers and exporters, and reduced competitiveness of Nigerian goods.

According to him, the NSW and port modernisation are part of a broader economic strategy under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to strengthen macroeconomic stability, improve the ease of doing business, attract and scale investment, and achieve a 7 per cent medium-term economic growth target.

He added that the reforms demonstrate a coordinated, system-wide approach to economic transformation.

“Phase 1 of the NSW directly targets the 73 per cent transaction delay component by introducing a single digital platform for trade documentation, eliminating multiple agency visits and duplicative processes, and enabling electronic submission of Licences, Permits, and Certificates (LPCOs), digital manifest processing, centralised risk management across agencies, transparent electronic payments, faster document processing, reduced human interface and bottlenecks, and more predictable and transparent timelines,” he said.

He added that the launch of Phase 1 of the NSW coincides with last week’s deal to upgrade Apapa Port (built in 1913) and Tin Can Island Port (built in 1977), describing both as coordinated reforms designed to cut cargo dwell time, reduce trade costs, and unlock economic growth.

According to the Minister of Trade and Investment, Mrs Jumoke Oduwole, the platform is scheduled to go live on Friday and will include one shipping line and one port.

“These are the kinds of game changers in terms of trade facilitation ⁠that we need,” Oduwole said, adding that it is a priority project for an economy of Nigeria’s size that is working to emphasise trading.

Mrs Oduwole said streamlining imports and exports at the ports could have a “multiplier effect” in terms of balance ‌of ⁠trade and foreign exchange generation.

When FRTX is viewed through the lens of product structure rather than emotion, the service presents a fairly clear offering: browser-based CFD trading, a broad mix of instruments, account-type selection based on client goals, and an additional layer of conditions for more active users. On its website, the company states that the FRTX brand and its related resources are operated by FRTX Ltd, registered under number HV01125482 and licensed by the Mwali International Services Authority as an international brokerage company under license number BFX2025158.

The same website also highlights 200+ trading instruments, browser-based access, and leverage from 1:10 to 1:1000 upon request, which sets the framework for the overall product model.

In terms of market coverage, FRTX appears to offer a fairly broad CFD lineup. On the “How We Work” page, the company specifically lists CFDs on commodities, metals, currencies, crypto-assets, and securities. The descriptions in those sections mention natural gas and oil, gold, silver, and palladium, currency pairs, widely known crypto-assets such as Bitcoin, Ripple, and Ethereum, as well as shares of major global companies. The homepage complements that picture with a broader statement about trading CFDs on stocks, commodities, currencies, and other financial instruments. For a review article, this is a meaningful advantage: the product basket does not look decorative, but genuinely multi-layered.

It is also worth noting that FRTX does not separate the platform from the trading conditions as if they were two unrelated worlds. FRTX Web is presented as a browser-based solution for desktop and mobile devices with a quick trading panel, an order book with real-time quotes, built-in market forecasts, and an economic calendar. As a result, the instruments, the analytics layer, and the actual point of trade execution are presented as one integrated environment rather than a patchwork of disconnected functions. For a brokerage product, that creates a more cohesive impression: when the platform and the trading terms follow the same logic, the service feels more structured.

The account model is also presented without unnecessary theatrics. On the accounts page, the service does not try to sell a dozen dramatic account names. Instead, it keeps the idea simple: users select an account type based on their goals, while the differences between account types are reflected in additional benefits such as enlarged cashback, monthly interest, and bonuses on replenishment. The same section also outlines the onboarding path: registration, verification, opening a trading account, funding it, and then working through the platform. In a review context, this reads as a sign of product discipline: the focus is placed not on flashy labels, but on what the client actually receives depending on account level or activity.

As for the trading conditions themselves, FRTX’s public presentation focuses on several clear parameters. The website refers to floating spreads, low commissions, and leverage of up to 1:1000. It also emphasizes high liquidity, the ability to trade on both rising and falling prices of the underlying asset, and mentions instant execution and fast withdrawals as part of the broader user proposition. In neutral analytical terms, this looks like an attempt to build a classic retail CFD model: a wide choice of markets, floating spreads, a relatively low commission barrier, and flexibility in leverage.

The loyalty program also remains a visible part of FRTX’s commercial logic rather than something hidden in the background. On the dedicated page, the company refers to bonuses of up to 100% on deposits, cashback of up to 100% of commissions for active traders, and monthly interest of up to 5% per month on available account balances. At the same time, the website includes an important qualification: the exact scale of these benefits depends on account type, current terms, and the loyalty program documentation, while the monthly interest feature is explicitly marked as not a banking product or service. For a review, this is a useful detail: the offer is presented in an attractive way, but not entirely without conditions and clarifications.

Taken together, FRTX appears, at the product-structure level, to be a service that aims to offer more than just one core function. It combines account selection, CFDs across several asset classes, browser-based trading, integrated analytics, and bonus mechanics for more active clients. That internal coherence is what creates the most favorable impression in a neutral review: the service does not look like a one-page offer, but rather like a more complete system with its own internal logic. The fact that the company also publishes its registration and licensing details on the website adds further weight to that presentation rather than relying on marketing language alone.

At the same time, the final assessment still has to remain grounded. FRTX operates in leveraged CFD trading, which means the strengths of its product structure always exist alongside the risk profile of the instrument itself. The website explicitly states that trading in financial markets and derivatives with leverage involves a high level of risk and may result in losses exceeding the initial deposit. That is why the strongest version of this review is not one that tries to label the service “perfect,” but one that describes it more precisely: FRTX appears to be a structured brokerage product with a broad CFD offering and a clearly organized conditions framework, but it should still be evaluated through the lens of the user’s own risk profile and careful reading of the company’s documentation.

This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Trading CFDs and other leveraged derivative instruments involves a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all users.