Benin launches its side of Niger-Benin oil pipeline project

The government of Benin has launched construction works on for the 684 km Benin side of the Niger-Benin oil pipeline project, in the town of Sèmè- Kpodji.

The project was launched by the country’s Ministry of Mines in partnership with the West African Oil Pipeline Benin Company (Wapco Benin). The China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) has been trying since 2012 to build a pipeline linking oil fields in Niger to the coast. The initial plan was to build the Niger Chad Oil Pipeline, which would have connected in Chad with the Chad-Cameroon Oil Pipeline but that plan was abandoned, reportedly “because of a ‘poor experience’ with Chadian authorities.

The overall pipeline, measuring more than 1,900-kilometer will run from Agadem in Niger to Port Seme on the Atlantic coast in Benin. It is the largest cross-border crude pipeline invested by CNPC in Africa.

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Scope of work

The project also comprises the construction of a total of nine intermediate stations. Upon completion, the entire pipeline, which is being constructed along with the second phase development of the Agadem oilfield, will be capable of delivering up to 90,000bpd of crude oil to the Port Seme export terminal located on the Atlantic Coast in Benin.

The Benin section side of the project will involve construction of include a terminal station at Sèmè-Kpodji in the Ouémé Department, two pumping stations at Gogounou and Tchatchou in the Alibori and Borgou Departments respectively, as well as an export terminal on the high seas.

The infrastructure will cross the departments of Ouémé, Plateau, Collines, Borgou, Alibori, and 17 municipalities including Sèmè-Kpodji. The pipeline project, along with the two-phased Agadem oilfield development, will have a total output of more than 5.5 million tons (Mt).