Niger is considering rerouting its oil exportation through Chad after it faced challenges transporting it through a China-backed 1,930-kilometer pipeline that goes through neighboring Benin. This halt is due to both a diplomatic disagreement with Benin and an attack by the Patriotic Liberation Front, a rebel group that has threatened further assaults unless Niger cancels its $400 million deal with China. Because of these challenges, Niger’s junta is now looking at alternative ways of transporting the oil, including building a new pipeline through Chad and Cameroon. According to Seidik Abba, president of International Centre for Studies and Reflections on the Sahel (CIRES), this will pose significant challenges as there is no telling whether anybody will want to invest in the new pipeline. In the meantime, the inability to export its oil is causing significant economic losses for the West African state.
SOURCE: AFRICA NEWS