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