CNPC Defies Niger Junta, Continues Oil Exports Amid Dispute

West Africa WeeklyOctober 18, 20251 Mins read558

China’s state-owned oil giant CNPC has continued crude oil exports from Niger even amidst tensions with the country’s military junta over working conditions and foreign control of resources. This move comes against the background of the fragile relationship between Niamey and one of its most important foreign investors.

Sources familiar with the issue have found that CNPC has thus far shipped around 32 million barrels of oil through a 2,000-kilometre pipeline from Niger’s Agadem oilfields to Benin’s coastal region, generating more than $2 billion in revenue. The shipments came as background negotiations between CNPC and Nigerien officials intensified, with the latter accusing the company of abusing local workers and violating labour contracts.

Central to the dispute is Niger’s demand that CNCP increase the proportion of local staff from below 30% to 80% and narrow the substantial gap between Nigerien workers and Chinese expatriates. The coup regime that came to power in 2023 has stressed taking control of national resources as one of its campaign planks, booting out a number of foreign bosses earlier this year in a bid to take over the oil sector.

CNPC, which has a 65% interest in the Agadem oil project, has invested over $5 billion in Niger’s oil facilities, including refinery construction and the giant export pipeline. Even as diplomatic tensions rose, the company continued to produce and ship oil, indicating that the economic interests of both sides are too great for either side to budge.

Analysts believe Niger’s government is walking a tightrope — needing to establish sovereignty and demand more equitable terms but not wanting to provoke upheavals at the cost of priceless export revenues. For now, CNCP’s steady oil flow through Benin shows that the partnership, despite tension, still functions — but its survival will depend on whether both parties can bridge the widening gap between political authority and economic reality.

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