GreenergyDaily

Mar. 17, 2025

1. Niger's junta has ordered three Chinese officials working in the oil sector to leave the country, two sources familiar with the decision told Reuters on Friday, in the latest move by regional military governments to assert greater control over resources.

2. The request for the departure of the Niger-based directors of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the West African Oil Pipeline Company (WAPCo) and the joint venture oil refinery SORAZ was communicated Wednesday, the sources said.

3. The Chinese officials were given 48 hours to leave, and one source close to the government said on Friday they were out of the country.

4. Ibrahim Hamidou, head of communications for Prime Minister Ali Lamine Zeine, said the companies had failed to adhere to a 2024 amendment to the mining code promoting the use of local goods, services and labor in Niger’s extractive sector, according to Bloomberg.

5. “We simply ask the companies to pick a Nigerian sub-contractor when possible, and that a majority of the sub-contractors shouldn’t be Chinese,” Hamidou said.

6. CNPC in April signed a $400 million deal with Niger to pay for oil in advance to help the West African nation’s junta pay debt it’s accumulated since a 2023 coup. Niger would pay 7% interest on the advance funding, which was to be repaid through the equivalent amount in oil revenue over 12 months.

7. In June 2024, Niger's military government revoked a French fuel producer's permit to operate at one of the world's biggest uranium mines.