Benin blocks Niger oil exports over border dispute

PORTO-NOVO, Benin

Benin has blocked exports of oil from Niger via its port, President Patrice Talon said on Wednesday, demanding junta-led Niger reopen its border to Beninois goods and normalise relations before crude shipments can restart.

The move jeopardises landlocked Niger’s plan to start exports from its Agadem oilfield under a memorandum of understanding signed last month with Chinese state-owned oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) worth $400 million.

Trade flows in the region were expected to normalise after the West African regional bloc lifted in February strict sanctions on Niger as it sought to dissuade it and junta-led neighbours Mali and Burkina Faso from withdrawing from the political and economic union.

But Niger has kept its borders closed to goods from Benin and not formally told Benin why it has done so, Talon said in a statement.

“If you want to load your oil … in our waters, then you should not see Benin as an enemy,” he said.

“If tomorrow the Nigerien authorities decide to collaborate formally with Benin, the ships will be loaded.”