Niger is considering routing its oil through neighboring Chad and Cameroon, instead of using a China-backed pipeline running from Niger to Benin’s coast, after protracted diplomatic disputes with the latter and a recent rebel attack that damaged the vital pipeline. State media said the “malicious individuals” who had sabotaged part of the pipeline would be apprehended and prosecuted. Niger has kept its borders closed to goods from Benin, alleging its neighbor was hosting French forces that were training others to destabilize Niger, a claim Paris has denied. To find a solution out of this impasse, the Niger junta is considering reviving the option of routing the oil through neighboring Chad and Cameroon. But “the Chad option is not a simple solution, as it involves building a new (oil) pipeline,” says Seidik Abba, researcher and president of the International Centre for Studies and Reflections on the Sahel (CIRES).
