Prime Minister Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, appointed by the military who took power in Niger on July 26, attended on Wednesday, November 1, the commissioning of a giant oil pipeline to transport crude from the oil fields in the southeast of the country as far as Benin, public television announced. The borders between Niger and Benin are closed following heavy regional sanctions imposed after the coup by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
Thanks to this almost 2,000 kilometer long pipeline, Niger, one of the poorest states in the world, will be able to sell its crude oil on the international market for the first time, via the port of Sèmè-Podji in neighboring Benin. “The resources resulting from exploitation (…) will be intended exclusively to ensure the sovereignty and development of our country on the basis of equitable sharing with the populations,” declared Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine during the commissioning ceremony .
Bintou Camara and Simon Pierre Bossi, respectively energy ministers of Mali and Burkina Faso, were present at the ceremony organized at the Agadem oil site more than 1,700 kilometers from Niamey, in the desert east of the Diffa region. Only neighboring Mali and Burkina Faso, also led by the military, show solidarity with Niger by keeping their borders open.
Six billion dollars invested
Launched in 2019, the pipeline project was supposed to be completed in 2022, but the Covid-19 pandemic slowed it down, the West African Oil Pipeline Company (Wapco), the project owner, explained to AFP. In total, $6 billion was invested, including $4 billion to develop oil fields in the Agadem region and $2.3 billion for the construction of the pipeline, according to the Nigerien government.
These investments helped increase Niger’s oil production to 110,000 barrels per day, of which 90,000 barrels are to be exported. Black gold is extracted by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC). Officially, Niger’s reserves “are around 2 billion barrels.” And, according to official projections, it will produce 200,000 barrels per day in 2026.
In 2022, Nigerien authorities estimated that exports would “generate a quarter of the country’s GDP” (more than $13.6 billion in 2020 according to the World Bank) and “roughly 50% of Niger’s tax revenue.” While GDP growth was expected to reach 6% in 2023, boosted by expected oil exports, it could fall to 2.3% “if international sanctions continue until the end of the year”, estimates the Bank worldwide.