The Nigerien government has announced securing $400 million from its Chinese partner as an “advance” against its forthcoming sales of crude oil, with commercialization set to commence in May, as reported by Nigerien state media on April 13, 2024. Benjamin Augé, a researcher at the French Institute of International Relations (Ifri), suggests that this move would enable “the junta to operate its administration in the coming months, provide fiscal revenue to Benin, and allow China, the primary investor in Niger across all sectors, to capitalize on its investment.”
Four hundred million dollars: the sum that Niger will receive from China through its oil company CNPC (China National Petroleum Corporation). On April 12, 2024, the Chinese company and the transitional government signed an agreement regarding the marketing of Nigerien oil.
In anticipation of crude oil sales, the Chinese partner has committed to providing a $400 million advance, which Niger will repay over a year with a 7% interest rate.
Exports are set to commence in May from the port of Sèmè in neighboring Benin, which anticipates significant fiscal benefits, while Niger maintains its closed border despite the lifting of sanctions imposed by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in response to the coup d’état in Niamey on July 26, 2023.