Sani Mahamadou, Niger’s Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies
Niger sets out upstream ambitions
The country expects to ramp up crude production and exports next year with the completion of its export pipeline via Benin
The $2bn Niger-Benin oil pipeline is Africa's longest pipeline at 2,000km—and 150km has already been built through a joint venture with Chinese company CNPC and the Nigerien government, the country’s Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies Sani Mahamadou tells Petroleum Economist. The landlocked nation currently produces around 20,000bl/d of crude, all of which is piped to the country’s Zinder refinery, near the border with Nigeria. Half of the resulting product is used domestically, covering the country’s limited requirements, and the rest exported to Mali, Nigeria and Burkina Faso. “When the pipeline is completed by next year, our production will jump to 110,000bl/d. We will s
Also in this section
16 January 2026
The country’s global energy importance and domestic political fate are interlocked, highlighting its outsized oil and gas powers, and the heightened fallout risk
16 January 2026
The global maritime oil transport sector enters 2026 facing a rare convergence of crude oversupply, record newbuild deliveries and the potential easing of several geopolitical disruptions that have shaped trade flows since 2022
15 January 2026
Rebuilding industry, energy dominance and lower energy costs are key goals that remain at odds in 2026
14 January 2026
Chavez’s socialist reforms boosted state control but pushed knowledge and capital out of the sector, opening the way for the US shale revolution
