Niger: Group claims responsibility for attack on China-backed pipeline and threatens further attacks

NIAMEY: An armed group opposed to Niger’s ruling junta crippled a section of the country’s PetroChina-funded crude oil pipeline in an attack on Sunday evening, a statement said.

The pipeline has a capacity of 90,000 barrels per day (bpd), is almost 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles) long and connects the Agadem oil field in Niger with the coast of Benin.

The exports are to be shipped as part of a $400 million deal with oil giant China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC).

The Patriotic Liberation Front (FPL) said its attack on the pipeline was aimed at forcing Niger’s Chinese partners to cancel the export contract. The FPL was founded after the West African country’s coup in July 2023.

“If this fails, all oil resources will be shut down in the next few actions,” the FPL said, without giving further details.

The government of Niger, PetroChina, CNPC and pipeline operator West Africa Oil Pipeline (WEPCO) did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The alleged attack exacerbates the crisis surrounding the pipeline, whose water supplies Niger said it had shut off last Thursday due to a border dispute with Benin.

This came a day after unidentified assailants attacked soldiers guarding the pipeline in the southeastern region of Dosso, killing six soldiers, security sources told Reuters.

So far, no one has claimed responsibility for the attack. It was the first attack on the security forces protecting the pipeline. Jihadist groups with links to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State are active in the area.