As Nigeria’s refineries fail: We’ll Export Petrol to Nigeria – Nigerien President Issoufou

President Issoufou stated that plans are underway to ensure that the excesses from the 20,000 barrels of oil produced daily by his country are refined and exported to Nigeria and other African countries.   Niger Republic started oil production in November last year after it discovered oil deposits in parts of the country. President Issoufou, […]

President Issoufou stated that plans are underway to ensure that the excesses from the 20,000 barrels of oil produced daily by his country are refined and exported to Nigeria and other African countries.

 

Niger Republic started oil production in November last year after it discovered oil deposits in parts of the country.

President Issoufou, who said his country presently produced at a very low quantity of 20,000 barrels of crude oil per day, compared to Nigeria’s average of 2.6 million barrels per day, was optimistic that very soon its production capacity would increase, as the country’s target  is to achieve 80,000 barrels a day, 20,000 to be refined in Niger and the remaining 60,000 to be exported to Nigeria and other countries.

“We produce a very low quantity of oil in Niger Republic compared to Nigeria. We produce 20,000 barrels of crude oil a day and the oil is being refined here in Zinder. Our national consumption is about 11,000 to 12,000 barrels a day and the rest would be exported to Nigeria and other African countries,” he said.

He said for the time being, the refined oil would be exported by road, but with time, when the quantity increases, his country may build oil pipelines to link Nigeria and other African countries where Niger Republic plans to export its oil to.

During the House of Representatives ad hoc committee’s probe into the fuel subsidy scandal, it was revealed that part of the refined products subsidized by government was smuggled into Niger Republic, among several other African countries, where fuel price is high.

Niger Republic  president, in this interview with Sunday Trust said, such purchases of fuel from Nigeria  may become a thing of the past as there woundn’t be the need for his country to import oil from Nigeria any more.

“Since we now have our own oil, I think it’s not necessary for us to import from Nigeria. And we know Nigeria, for the time being, is facing a kind of problems that includes shortage of petroleum products supply and other things, so, it’s good that we stop importing from Nigeria,” President Issoufou said.

However, the president has said that despite the commencement of oil production in Niger, the country would not depend solely on oil as source of revenue, but will use the oil proceeds to develop other sectors of the economy, particularly agriculture, as it cannot afford to make mistakes which other oil-rich countries have made by neglecting other sectors because of the discovery of oil deposits in their countries.

He said “as you know, oil wealth is a kind of misfortune in many African countries. We hope that we will avoid it here in Niger Republic”

 

The new rich man next door: How we plan to avoid the misfortune of oil wealth
– President Issoufou

Compared to its southern big brother Nigeria, Niger Republic was often considered to be dirt poor. Not anymore. With crude oil now gushing from its new-found wells and with a brand new Chinese-built oil refinery to match, the future is looking rosy for Niger Republic more than at any time since independence from France in 1960. The task of steering the country into a prosperous future while at the same time, avoiding the pitfalls often associated with rich mineral resources rests on the broad shoulders of Alhadji Mahamadou Issoufou, president of the country since last year.  President Issoufou, a 60-year-old mining engineer from Dandadji and leader of PNDS-Tarayya party, confidently  sat down at the Presidential Palace in Niamey and spoke to Sunday Trust on his country’s new oil riches, the impact of Libya’s civil war on his country and relations between Nigeria and Niger Republic.  

Niger Republic recently discovered rich oil deposits. How do you intend to handle these new riches?

First of all, I would like to thank you very much and also would like to confirm that we are now an oil-producing country, since November 29, 2011. Apart from oil, we also have other mineral resources such as uranium and gold. Coming back to your question, I would like to tell you that we have so many things to do with our oil resources and I would say that Western nations first developed themselves through agriculture, even before the Industrial Revolution. But in Niger Republic here and in Africa, the reverse is the case because we use oil to develop other sectors such as agriculture and other things. And our ambition is also to create a condition to feed ourselves.

Our concern now is to develop agriculture. Our slogan in Niger Republic today is “Nigeriens Should Grow to Feed Nigerien People.” So we have to grow food by ourselves to feed our people. And, of course, the implementation of all these activities need resources and we need the resources to develop the agricultural sector. We also have infrastructure issues to address, such as roads. We are in the process of constructing roads and rail lines. We will also develop the energy sector. Our ambition is to develop education generally, all kinds of education –professional, vocational etc. We also have the health sector; we need health for all Nigeriens. So we will use our oil resources to develop all these sectors.

How will the new revenue affect the lives of the ordinary people in such a way as to avoid the kind of problems Nigeria is witnessing in the oil-producing region?

As you know, I told you that we are going to invest our oil resources to develop all aspects of life in Niger. I talked about agriculture, infrastructure, education, job creation and what have you. This will help us to avoid this kind of problem. As you know, oil wealth is a kind of misfortune in many African countries, but we hope that we will avoid it here in Niger Republic. As you know also, in some countries there are Western companies that use oil revenue to develop their own countries instead of African countries. In Niger Republic, oil resources will be for its people. We have more than eighty percent of the country’s population who depend on agriculture. So, if you develop that sector, it means the majority of the people will take the advantage of the oil revenue. Once the people feel that they are being taken care of, there will be no violence, no disturbances in the country.

You recently commissioned a petroleum refinery very close to the Nigerian border. Are you offering to sell its products to Nigeria?

We produce a very low quantity of oil in Niger Republic compared to Nigeria. We produce 20,000 barrels of crude oil a day and the oil is being refined here in Zinder. Our national consumption is about 11,000 to 12,000 barrels a day and the rest may be exported to Nigeria and other African countries. Our objective now is to achieve 80,000 barrels a day, 20,000 barrels to be refined here in Niger and 60,000 to be exported.

There was this talk of building a pipeline to link the refinery in Zinder to a depot in Nigeria. Where are we on that issue?

For the time being, according to the quantity we have as I rightly told you, I think the refined oil will be exported by road. If the quantity is high, we can make it [i.e. build the pipeline], but I don’t think it is possible for now.

Is it correct that Niger Republic has stopped buying Nigeria’s refined oil following the discovery of oil in your country?

When we had no oil, we imported it from Nigeria for our needs, but since we now have our own oil, I think it is not necessary for us to import from Nigeria. And we know Nigeria, for the time being, is facing a kind of problem that includes shortage of petroleum products supply and other things. So it is good that we stop importing from Nigeria. As I said, we plan to export when our crude oil production is high.

In the days leading to the demise of the former Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Ghaddafi, there were reports of some of his associates, including his son, fleeing to Niger Republic.  Are they still in the country and what is their status now?

We were very much concerned about what happened in Libya and the impact it has on our country, and as you must have read, arms were stolen and hidden in the Sahara, everywhere.

The facts are there. We have all sorts of crimes – terrorism, drugs trade, arms trafficking, human trafficking and many other criminal activities going on in our area. You see, before the demise of Ghaddafi’s regime, we had a  relationship with Libya in almost all aspects of life. But the situation now is harmful to our country. Just to talk about our social issue, for instance, we have many Nigerien workers expelled from Libya. They are about 260,000; we have the problem of settling them here in Niger. We also have the fear about the kind of Somali problem. The religious fundamentalists expelled from Libya may find their way to Niger Republic. But we are happy to note that the new Libyan authorities have set up a kind of council to man the country. Many Libyans left the country for Niger Republic, including Seif Gaddafi, son of the former Libyan leader. And when they came to Niger, we welcomed them on humanitarian grounds. Some have since left, but those who chose to remain here have been asked not to engage in any political activity.

Nigeria itself is facing security challenges, especially from the Boko Haram group. Does Niger Republic have some advice to offer on the handling of this problem?
Really, I don’t have any advice to offer to Nigeria on Boko Haram problem, but I hope peace will prevail in Nigeria and I wish security be safeguarded in Nigeria. Nigerians should live in peace with one another regardless of religious, ethnic or geographical differences. It is in unity that we can develop, and the unity of Africa is the hope for Africa. So sometime when I look at the African map I have the feeling that I am in front of a broken mirror because when you have a broken mirror you have so many pieces. So we really need unity to move our continent forward.

Your Foreign Minister was quoted last week as saying that Boko Haram has been receiving training from Al-Qaida in the Maghreb. Is Niger Republic sharing this intelligence with the Nigerian authorities?

No comment. Next question, please.

Niger Republic also has vast quantity of uranium and recent reports are suggesting that you are considering using uranium to generate nuclear energy. Given the huge cost involved, do you consider this to be a serious option?

Uranium, as you said, will help us in our search to meet our power needs. The ECOWAS countries also need this kind of energy because it is a clean and low cost energy. I would want to propose for the ECOWAS countries a nuclear plant and we have to come together to develop this kind of energy plant. If we develop the power plant here in Niger Republic, we need only 1000 megawatts of electricity, so this is beyond Niger’s power needs. And we need more than 1000 power plants to cover the whole ECOWAS countries.

Some international agencies are saying that there may be food shortages in some parts of Niger Republic this year. That is the period between the onset of the rainy season and the next harvest. How is your government addressing this matter?

As at now, we have a shortage of about 520,000 metric tons of food and for animal fodder, we have a shortage of 10 million metric tons. We have taken very important measures. We have just approached and contacted our partners. We developed some kind of urgent programme for irrigation to produce sufficient food in the pastoral and environmental areas. We are now investing 33 billion CFA to cover the shortage; and for this, we are just getting in touch with our partners to step up measures in line with our slogan of ‘Nigeriens Should Grow to Feed Nigerien People.’ We decided that henceforth, drought will not be in Niger Republic again and no hunger shall happen in Niger Republic again. We hope to achieve this in no distant future.

In what areas do you hope to see improvements in relations between Nigeria and Niger Republic?

The border between Niger Republic and Nigeria is artificial because it was just created by colonialists, and from the other side of the border, you have the same nationalities and the exchanges between our two countries are very good. Nigeria, for example, is the first economic partner of Niger Republic.  Concerning our relations, as you know, we have a permanent joint commission, which is doing so many things. The last meeting was held in Birnin Kebbi in Nigeria to strengthen our relations and we hope things will continue to be better in the best interest of the two countries.