Landlocked Niger has resumed crude oil exports via Benin, following a previous disruption caused by a trade dispute. The dispute halted shipments through a newly constructed Chinese-funded pipeline.
The conflict began when Niger refused to lift its ban on imports from Benin, leading Benin to block oil exports through the PetroChina-backed pipeline in May, as reported by Reuters. Niger subsequently halted oil flow through the pipeline in June.
In response, the junta-led government of Niger engaged in discussions with Benin’s government, facilitated by two former Beninese presidents, to resolve the issue.
On Tuesday, the West African Gas Pipeline Company (WAPCO), which manages the pipeline, reported that the Aura M, a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker, loaded approximately one million barrels of oil from Niger at the Benin port.
Ship tracking data from MarineTraffic confirmed that the vessel was loaded and departed from the Benin port on Tuesday afternoon.
The WAPCO-operated pipeline, which began operations earlier this year, has a capacity of 90,000 barrels per day. It stretches nearly 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) from Niger’s Agadem oilfield to the coast of Benin.
Niger’s import ban on Benin, which led to the pipeline’s shutdown, was related to political disagreements within the West African regional bloc ECOWAS, which had imposed sanctions on Niger last year.
Although ECOWAS later lifted the sanctions, Niger did not immediately allow imports from Benin. The exact resolution of the dispute that enabled the resumption of oil exports remains unclear.
