Niger Resumes Oil Exports Via Benin After Suspension Amid Dispute

(Reuters) — Landlocked Niger has resumed crude oil exports via Benin after a dispute between the countries halted the flow of oil through a new Chinese-funded pipeline to the West African coast, according to a pipeline company agent and ship tracking data on Wednesday.

The dispute was over Niger's refusal to lift a ban on imported goods from Benin, leading its coastal neighbor to block exports through the PetroChina-backed pipeline in May. In June, Niger shut off the flow of oil through the pipeline.

An agent with the West African Gas Pipeline Company (Wapco), which operates the pipeline, told Reuters on Wednesday that the Aura M, a Liberian-flagged crude oil tanker, had loaded around one million barrels of oil from Niger at the Benin port on Tuesday.

Ship tracking data from MarineTraffic, a global maritime analytics provider, showed the vessel was loaded and departed the Benin port on Tuesday afternoon.

It was bound for China, where it was due to arrive on Oct. 10, the data showed. It was last spotted on Tuesday in the Gulf of Guinea, just off the West African coast.

The Wapco-operated pipeline has a capacity of 90,000 barrels per day and began operating earlier this year. It extends for nearly 2,000 km (1,243 miles) from Niger's Agadem oilfield to Benin's coast.

Niger's disputed ban on Benin related to political disagreements within the West African regional bloc known as ECOWAS that led it to impose sanctions on Niger last year.

While ECOWAS later lifted sanctions on Niger, Niamey did not reciprocate to allow imports from Benin.

It was not immediately clear on Wednesday how the dispute had been resolved to allow Niger's oil exports to resume. Nigerien and Benin officials could not immediately be reached for comment by telephone.

Niger's crude oil exports through the pipeline have been agreed as part of a $400 million deal with oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

In a further sign of the region's turbulent political climate, a Nigerien anti-government rebel group sabotaged the pipeline in June, causing minor damage.