Niger Set to Start Crude Exports via New Pipeline

SEATTLE (Oil Monster): The African nation of Niger is set to start exports of crude oil through new pipeline. The initial shipment is expected by end-April or early-May this year, with storage tanks in Benin being filled. As per sources, crude oil has started flowing through the conduit last week itself.

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This follows lifting of sanctions by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in February, thereby allowing China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) to complete construction of the 2,000 km Niger-Benin pipeline.

The ECOWAS regional bloc, of which Benin is a part, had placed sanctions on Niger, which prevented key equipment needed for the construction of the pipeline from crossing the border between the two countries. It was only in late-February that the bloc announced its decision to ease sanctions on humanitarian grounds.

The crude produced from Niger’s Agadem Rift Basin has been primarily used domestically, due to lack of export routes. However, this new pipeline will help connect Koulele in Niger's oil fields to the Beninese port of Seme, thus allowing for exports. The 110,000 b/d Niger-Benin pipeline is expected to quintuple the country’s crude production and transform it into a major crude oil exporter in the region.