Benin: Tension with Niger / Cotonou blocks export of nigerian oil at Sèmé-Podji terminal station; Niamey takes urgent measures
Benin announced on Monday, May 6, 2024, its decision to block the loading of Nigerian oil from the terminal station of the Niger-Benin pipeline in Sémè-Podji. This decision constitutes a form of pressure on the military regime in Niamey in response to its refusal to reopen land borders with Benin. In reaction to this blockade, the Niamey authorities are considering bypassing the port of Cotonou and continuing to sell their oil.
The tension between Benin and Niger is far from reaching a conclusion. Since the coup d’état on July 23, 2023, the two countries have maintained a strained relationship, initially characterized by Cotonou’s enforcement of economic sanctions imposed by ECOWAS, and subsequently by the military’s refusal to reopen land borders with Benin, despite attempts by Patrice Talon to resolve the situation.
While Niger authorities have reopened their borders with Nigeria a week after the lifting of sanctions by ECOWAS, they still keep their borders with Benin closed. As a reason for this inflexibility, the military regime in Niamey cites the presence of French military personnel on Beninese soil.
Faced with this economic suffocation imposed on Benin by Niger, the main external client of the Port of Cotonou, Beninese authorities are opting for a tit-for-tat response.
In a note addressed on Monday, May 6, to the Chinese Ambassador to Benin and the China National Oil & Gas Exploration and Development Corporation, the management company of the pipeline, the Cotonou government prohibits the export of oil to Niger from its Sèmè-Podji platform.
“Ships are prohibited from loading oil until Niamey reopens its border with Cotonou”, the correspondence reads.
This is an economic pressure aimed at compelling Niger to reopen its borders with Benin.
While this decision is supposed to make the military regime in Niamey capitulate, it appears unwilling to back down and intends to continue the standoff. According to some sources, the CNSP is considering bold actions such as the creation of a refinery and a dry port for the sale of crude oil.
The Nigerien government also intends to consult with their partner China to explore the possibility of diverting the pipeline to the port of Lomé to continue benefiting from their oil.
