A lifeline lost? Niger's hopes of escaping poverty through China backed oil pipeline are fading
A China-backed pipeline that would make Niger an oil-exporting country is being threatened by an internal security crisis and a diplomatic dispute with neighbouring Benin, both as a result of last year’s coup that toppled the West African nation’s democratic government. The 1,930-kilometer pipeline runs from Niger’s Chinese-built Agadem oil field to the port of Cotonou in Benin. It was formally launched at the end of last year and is designed to help the oil-rich but landlocked Niger achieve an almost fivefold increase in oil production through a €373 million deal signed in April with China’s ...