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Talon accused Nigerien authorities of rejecting formal cooperation. He has tied the opening of the Sémè port to the normalization of trade relations.
Niger started exporting its oil using ports in Benin two weeks ago. In a new twist of events, Beninese president Patrice Talon now says Niger will not use its port to export the oil accusing Niger’s logic to blame for such eventualities.
Benin is a member of ECOWAS. The West African bloc threatened Niger’s junta with a military operation following a coup last July. The operation eventually didn’t happen. Hit by sanctions imposed by ECOWAS, Niger closed its border with Benin.
Porto-Novo progressively took a softer stance on its neighbor and opened its border. Benin President Talon claims his country exports large quantities of staples to Niger but because of the closed border on the Nigerien side, informal vendors profit when Beninese have to suffer a price increase. Talon accused Nigerien authorities of rejecting formal cooperation. He has tied the opening of the Sémè port to the normalization of trade relations.
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https://trendsnafrica.com/niger-to-export-oil-through-benin-port-of-seme-krake/
The pipeline, linking Koulele in Niger to the port of Seme in Benin will produce about 90,000 barrels per day, something that will transform Niger into a significant regional oil producer. Niger currently pumps around 20,000 bpd of oil, most of it from China National Petroleum Corp. projects in the Agadem Rift Basin in the country’s southeast.
