Niger and several Chinese oil companies have signed a series of agreements aimed at reviving crude production and exports after nearly a year of political and operational tensions between the military-led government and Chinese operators.
The deals, signed Monday in Niamey, mark a significant easing of a dispute that emerged in 2024 over local content rules, wage disparities and the management of expatriate workers in Niger’s oil sector.
The tensions had led to the expulsion of several Chinese executives and workers as the military authorities that seized power in July 2023 pushed for greater national control over strategic resources.
Negotiations to resolve the dispute began in China in June 2025 before continuing through months of discussions overseen by Nigerien authorities ahead of the signing ceremony in the capital.
At the centre of the agreement is a one-billion-dollar investment programme aimed at expanding oil production and strengthening export infrastructure.
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According to Nigerien authorities, the plan will relaunch the Dinga Deep and Abolo-Yogou oil projects and raise national crude production from about 110,000 barrels per day to 145,000 barrels per day by 2029.
The increase will depend largely on continued development in the Agadem Basin, Niger’s main oil-producing region, as well as export infrastructure linked to the Beninese port of Seme Podji.
China National Petroleum Corporation, which has operated in Niger since 2011, remains the dominant player in the sector through subsidiaries controlling most of the country’s oil production and transport infrastructure.
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One of the most significant concessions secured by Niger under the deal concerns transport costs for crude exports.
Pipeline tariffs for transporting oil to Benin’s coast will be reduced from 27 dollars to 15 dollars per barrel, a move authorities say could save the state around 106 million dollars annually.
Niamey also obtained a 45-percent stake in WAPCO, the company operating the export pipeline connecting Niger to the port of Seme Podji in Benin.
The state previously held no ownership stake in the strategic infrastructure, which is essential for Niger’s crude exports to international markets.
The agreements also include stronger local content provisions aimed at increasing Nigerien participation in the oil industry.
Authorities say around 450 jobs for Nigerien nationals are expected to be created by 2030, while local firms will be given a greater role in subcontracting and service provision.
The government also wants to gradually reduce wage disparities between local employees and expatriate workers, one of the issues that contributed to tensions with Chinese operators last year.
The dispute unfolded against a broader backdrop of rising resource nationalism across several military-led Sahel states, where governments have sought to renegotiate foreign partnerships in mining, oil and energy sectors.
Since taking power, Niger’s military rulers have repeatedly stressed the need for the country to gain greater economic benefits from its natural resources.
Still, analysts say the new agreements underline the limits of Niger’s ability to fully reshape its oil sector without foreign technical and financial support.
While the government secured lower tariffs, a stake in pipeline operations and stronger local content measures, Chinese firms remain indispensable to the industry’s day-to-day functioning and long-term expansion.
The agreements therefore represent a compromise between political sovereignty and industrial dependence.
For Niger, the deal offers the prospect of higher revenues, greater negotiating leverage and expanded domestic participation in the oil sector.
For Chinese operators, it restores stability in a strategically important energy partnership after months of uncertainty.
The key challenge now will be implementation, particularly whether commitments on pipeline governance, employment and local content are fully respected by both sides.
