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Souleymane Loum
| 27 seconds ago
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Algeria has become angry with Mali, certainly very likely the noise of the boots will not go beyond simple demonstrations of force but the fact is that diplomatic and economic relations are at a standstill. And who took the opportunity to place their pawns in Bamako, with very promising projects? Morocco. So there is no question of making the same mistake again with Niger, no question of letting quarrels develop over time with Mali’s neighbor. Algiers therefore did things differently and this strategy is paying off…
Things are starting up again very strongly between Algiers and Niamey
A delegation of experts from the Algerian oil company Sonatrach is on a one-week working visit to Niger to work on a project to build a refinery and a petrochemical complex, the company announced in a press release published on Thursday January 9. The delegation was even received by the Nigerien Minister of Oil, Sahabi Oumarou, said the same source. She adds that this unit, which should be installed in the town of Dosso (South-West), falls within the framework of “Algeria’s commitment to supporting Niger in transforming its natural wealth into sustainable development opportunities».
From a hydrocarbon point of view, the country is well off and the installations are following suit. The helping hand of Algeria, which has become a leader in the matter, will make it possible to reach higher levels, with the added benefit of the strong symbolism of South-South and intra-African cooperation. An orientation which increases the growth of Algeria in Africa, after the milestones laid on the path to the ZLECAF (African Continental Free Trade Area).
Sonatrach announced that a group of Nigerien engineers and technicians will be hosted in Algerian refineries to receive specialized training, led by experts from the Algerian Petroleum Institute (IAP). The Nigerien Minister of Oil declared that this program “constitutes a crucial step towards achieving energy sovereignty and an essential foundation for Niger’s economic transition, in the sense that it contributes to the satisfaction of national needs, job creation, strengthening local content and investment attraction»…
The refinery should ultimately have a production capacity of 30,000 barrels/day, expandable to 100,000 barrels/day, the Algerian public company said. Note that this partnership follows a trip by the Nigerien Prime Minister to Algiers last August, accompanied by an imposing ministerial delegation.
No more ECOWAS wrath and the Bazoum dream, time for business
Yet Algiers and Niamey come from far away. After the coup d’état of July 26, 2023, the Algerian authorities joined their voices with those of ECOWAS to attempt mediation around the return to constitutional order and the restoration of the elected president, Mohamed Bazoum. The Algerian government then formalized the agreement of the new military authorities for political talks “for a maximum of six months […] with the participation and approval of all parties in Niger without exclusion”to move towards the “restoration of constitutional order in the country».
Patatras: the Prime Minister of Niger, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, proclaimed that this was not the case and that he had learned the terms of this mediation on social networks, which amounts to accusing Algeria of “manipulation“. Needless to say, Algiers didn’t like it. Added to this is the standoff around the migration crisis. The culmination was the summons at the beginning of April 2024 of the Algerian ambassador stationed in Niamey to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to condemn the violence of the waves of expulsions of thousands of migrants at the border between the two countries.
Officially the partners have left the zone of turbulence. It must be said that in the meantime the Nigerien junta has shown that it will cling to power and that it is illusory to think of Bazoum’s return. All of the country’s partners, including democracies like Germany and the USA, have learned the consequences and come to terms with the new situation. Even ECOWAS, which threatened armed intervention to dislodge the putschists, ended up changing its tone. This did not prevent Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, all led by putschists, from leaving the organization on the grounds that it is a transmission belt for France.
So Algiers could not be more royalist than ECOWAS, it too showed pragmatism by reconnecting with the military in power in Niger. Bilateral relations have strengthened considerably in recent months, a dynamic that benefits hydrocarbons. Sonatrach has resumed its construction sites in its neighbor, the Algerian public company has even increased its investments in the Nigerien oil field of Kafra. The two wells drilled on this block, which covers 23,737 km2, should allow Niger to increase its oil production by 90,000 barrels per day.
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Algeria, Algerian company, petrochemical complex, coup d’état, migration crisis, Dosso, IAP, Algerian Petroleum Institute, Nigerien junta, Kafra, Mali, MOROCCO, mediation, Mohamed Bazoum, Niger, Nigerien oil, oil production, refinery, sonatrach , ZLECAF
