The Beninese government decided on Monday to block the shipment of Nigerien crude oil from the Sèmè Kpodji terminal, demanding the opening of the borders between the two countries, particularly on the Nigerien side, local media reported on Tuesday.
According to these same sources, the Beninese political authorities took this decision in the face of the intransigence of their Nigerien counterparts in not opening the land borders with Benin.
The heads of state of the member countries of the Economic Community of West African States, meeting on Saturday February 24 in Abuja, decided to lift a large part of the economic sanctions imposed on Niamey following of the military coup that occurred in 2023 in this country.
The first liters of crude oil pumped in Agadem, Niger, arrived at the Sèmè Kraké station facilities in April. Thus, 90,000 barrels of oil are expected every day to be transported via Benin. With this decision by the Beninese government, the ships intended to take over for the export of this oil are blocked.
The Niger-Benin Export Pipeline (PENB) is a construction of a pipeline transport system to evacuate crude oil produced in Niger to the international market via Beninese territory, with a total length of 1,980 km, including 675 km on the Beninese territory.
Xinhua
