Niger, China Reach Oil Deals After Months of Disputes

Junta-run Niger on Monday announced a series of agreements with Chinese firms to facilitate oil production and export after months of tension.

Niger’s military regime, which came to power in a coup in July 2023, is seeking to exert more control over its natural resources, especially oil and uranium.

Tensions had risen over labor issues as Niamey accused Beijing of flouting national regulations. Three executives and Chinese workers from China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) and its subsidiaries were ordered to leave Niger a year ago.

Several agreements were signed on Monday at a ceremony in Niamey that was attended by Chinese and Nigerien officials, including Prime Minister Ali Mahamane Lamine Zeine.

The accords include the relaunch of two oil projects, named Dinga Deep and Abolo-Yogou, for an investment of $1 billion. They “will raise our production from 110,000 to 145,000 barrels per day by the end of 2029,” Foreign Minister Bakary Yaou Sangare said during the ceremony, broadcast on state television.

He said the cost of transporting oil for export by pipeline has been reduced from $27 to $15 per barrel, which represents an estimated saving of more than $106 million per year for Niger.

Furthermore, Niger also acquired a 45 percent stake in the West African Oil Pipeline Company, a CNPC subsidiary that operates a giant pipeline carrying crude oil to neighboring Benin.

In addition, around 450 jobs are expected to be created by 2030 for Nigeriens, subcontracting will be “in favor of local Nigerien companies” and huge disparities in the salaries of expatriate and local staff will be reduced, Sangare said.

The talks leading to these agreements began in June 2025 in China. Chinese firms have been extracting oil in Niger since 2011. (AFP)