Unfazed by coup, Niger commissions oil pipeline to Benin

The closure of the border between Niger and Benin, following the heavy sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) after the coup in Niamey on 26 July, did not prevent the inauguration of a giant oil pipeline from Niger to neighbouring Benin.

Almost 2,000km long, it will enable Niger to sell its crude oil on the international market for the first time, via the port of Sèmè in Benin.

“The resources resulting from [this] exploitation will be used exclusively to ensure the sovereignty and development of our country on the basis of equitable sharing with the people,” said Nigerien Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine at the commissioning ceremony.

Bintou Camara and Simon Pierre Bossi, the energy ministers of Mali and Burkina Faso respectively, were present at the ceremony at the Agadem oil site, more than 1,700km from Niamey in the desert east of the Diffa region.

Neighbouring Mali and Burkina Faso, also led by the military, showed solidarity with Niger by keeping their borders open.

200,000 barrels a day by 2026

Launched in 2019, the pipeline project was due to be completed in 2022 but the Covid-19 pandemic slowed progress, the West African Oil Pipeline Company, the contracting authority, told French news agency AFP.

The crude will be extracted by the China National Petroleum Corporation

A total of $6bn has been invested, including $4bn to develop the oil fields in Agadem and $2.3bn to build the pipeline, according to the Nigerien government.

These investments have increased Niger’s oil production to 110,000 barrels per day, of which 90,000 barrels are to be exported. The crude will be extracted by the China National Petroleum Corporation.

Officially, Niger’s reserves hover around two billion barrels, and according to official projections, the country will be producing 200,000 barrels a day by 2026.

In 2022, Nigerien authorities estimated that exports would generate a quarter of the country’s GDP – more than $13.6bn in 2020, according to the World Bank – and around 50% of Niger’s tax revenues.

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, according to the World Bank.