AFP reports that Niger has turned to China for the construction of Africa’s longest oil pipeline

According to reports, the action will enable the sanctioned nation to access the world energy market.

According to an AFP story this week, Niger’s military authorities have started construction on the first section of a 2,000-kilometer pipeline that will transport crude oil to neighbouring Benin.

The commissioning ceremony, according to the story, took place at the Agadem oil facility in the Diffa desert, about 1,700 kilometres (or around 1,500 miles) from the city, Niamey.

The Nigerian Prime Minister, Ali Mahaman Lamine Zeine, was quoted at the ceremony on Wednesday as declaring that the country’s revenues from exploitation will be used to “ensure the sovereignty and development.” After the pipeline is put into service, Niger will be able to sell its crude on the global market for the first time through the port of Seme in Benin.

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Over $6 billion has been invested in the project, according to AFP, with $2.3 billion going towards building the pipeline and $4 billion going towards developing the oil reserves.

It is anticipated that the project, which is being built under the direction of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), will increase traffic to the Port of Cotonou in Benin. Once the pipeline is operational, the port is anticipated to process up to 300,000 tonnes of products annually.

The inauguration of the pipeline coincides with the broad sanctions that the European Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) placed on the nation following the military takeover on July 26.

One of the world’s poorest countries, Niger is a landlocked nation in West Africa that receives around $2 billion in development aid annually.