Equal Landed Cost & Price Harmonization for Petroleum Products

This day introduces the downstream petroleum value chain, international pricing benchmarks, and the fundamentals of petroleum trade structures and pricing architecture. The topics covered will include:

• The downstream petroleum value chain and the price-formation points within it
• International pricing benchmarks and the role of Price Reporting Agencies — Brent, WTI, Dubai/Oman, Platts, Argus, S&P Global
• Incoterms in petroleum trade: FOB, CIF, CFR, and DDP — and how each shapes risk, title, and cost allocation
• Spot, term, and forward contracts in petroleum trade and the link between trading, shipping, and pricing
• Product pricing structures across gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, LPG, and fuel oil — specifications, premiums, and discounts

This day focuses on the full landed cost structure from product pricing through freight, insurance, taxes, storage, and inland transportation. The topics covered will include:

• The total delivered cost concept — defining the landed cost equation, sequencing of components, and the audit philosophy that underpins it
• Product cost and ocean freight: setting the FOB or CIF reference, pricing windows, Worldscale and AFRA, tanker types, demurrage and laytime
• Marine cargo insurance, war risk, and P&I cover — plus port and discharge costs including pilotage, lighterage, ship-to-ship transfer, and inspection
• Statutory levies, customs duties, VAT, excise, and strategic stock or reserve fund contributions
• Storage, throughput, and depot transfer charges, plus inland transport via pipeline tariffs, road haulage, and rail freight

This day explores equal landed cost methodologies, pricing conventions, and comparative international petroleum pricing models. The topics covered will include:

• The methodological core of equal landed cost — single vs multi-landing point methodologies, reference cargo selection, and weighting conventions (arithmetic, volume-weighted, time-weighted)
• Import parity pricing (IPP) vs export parity pricing (EPP) vs netback — the logic of each, when to apply them, and how to choose the right basis for the market and policy context
• Currency, timing, and pricing windows: FX conversion conventions, B/L vs arrival vs monthly average, and forward and lagged pricing mechanisms
• Comparative African pricing models in detail: Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, and South Africa’s Basic Fuel Price methodology
• Lessons from deregulation pathways in India and the Philippines — transferable design principles and pitfalls to avoid

This day focuses on harmonisation frameworks, equalisation mechanisms, regulator-set pricing templates, and subsidy structures. The topics covered will include:

• Why prices differ across markets and depots — geography, infrastructure, tax and levy heterogeneity, product specification differences, and the political economy that drives the case for harmonisation
• Bridging differentials, inland transport equalisation, and the design and governance of equalisation funds, price stabilisation funds (PSF), and price equalisation funds (PEF)
• Constructing the regulator-set price template — the building blocks of an ex-pump price from refinery gate through cost, margin, levy, and tax
• Wholesale and retail margin structures, dealer and OMC margins, and strategic stock obligations within the template
• Subsidies, fiscal impact, and reform pathways — universal vs targeted subsidy design, plus ESG and just-transition perspectives on petroleum pricing

This day examines operational implementation, audit controls, automation, stakeholder communication, and future pricing trends. The topics covered will include:

• Operationalising harmonised pricing — the end-to-end monthly cycle, pricing committee design, and decision rights across supply, finance, and regulatory affairs
• Data, audit, and variance analysis: PRA assessments, freight indices, FX, and statutory rates, with reconciliation against actuals and corrective action protocols
• Systems, automation, and controls — from spreadsheets to enterprise pricing platforms, with practical recommendations for low-, mid-, and high-maturity organisations
• Communicating pricing decisions to internal and external stakeholders, including crisis communications around price adjustments and building the evidentiary base for change
• Common pitfalls and future trends — deregulation, dynamic pricing, ESG considerations, and the just-transition agenda