China’s Niger oil push stalls amid political instability

Chinese demand for Niger's heavy sweet Meleck crude has dried up this year amid fraying ties with the West African country's military junta, instability and high freight costs, according to sources familiar with the matter and shipping data from S&P Global Commodities at Sea.

In a bid to open up a new crude import stream, China National Petroleum Corp. built a $7 billion, 1,950 km crude pipeline linking its oil fields in Niger with Benin's Seme port, ultimately shipping the first cargo in May 2024.

But no cargoes have been purchased by Chinese buyers since February.

CNPC operates Niger's Agadem Rift Basin oil fields and built the 110,000 b/d conduit to ship Meleck crude to international markets. Prior to the pipeline, landlocked Niger could only pump 20,000 b/d of oil, all of it consumed locally.

During construction in mid-2023, Niger's former president, Mohamed Bazoum, was ousted in a military coup, triggering sanctions from regional bloc Ecowas and a bitter feud between Niger and Benin, which delayed the pipeline's startup.

It has also faced attacks from militants and anti-government groups, while the junta expelled a trio of Chinese oil executives in March 2025 citing non-conformity with local content requirements.

Anti-government groups have also sought to cancel a $400 million export deal between Niger's government and CNPC.

"It is not a successful overseas investment," a source with knowledge of the situation told Platts -- part of S&P Global Energy – on condition of anonymity due to its sensitivity.

Meleck crude has a 24.4 API gravity and sulfur content of 0.354%, according to CNPC, making it comparable with Angola's Pazflor and Dalia grades, which are sold primarily into China. Dalia was last assessed by Platts on Aug. 13 at a 55 cents/b premium to Dated Brent.

Lower buying interest

Deteriorating ties with Niger's junta and political instability in the West African country have been reflected in lower Chinese buying interest for Meleck crude.

Despite pipeline flows and exports stabilizing this year -- after a patchy 2024 -- Chinese refiners have not purchased any Nigerien oil since February.

It comes after a crude procurement strategist told Platts that while the specifications of Meleck make it attractive to Chinese refineries, political risks in Niger could be "a deal breaker".

In all, three cargoes of Meleck have been shipped to China, with state-owned Sinopec Guangzhou Petrochemical Company processing the third shipment after its arrival on the Front Brage Suezmax on April 7, according to Commodities at Sea data and company sources.

Chinese sources said freight rates had also played a role in reducing flows, with Niger's crude shipped on Suezmaxes, which have comparatively high freight costs on routes to Asia when compared with larger VLCCs.

Meanwhile, shorter voyage times to Europe make Meleck more advantageous for European refiners, according to trading sources.

Platts assessed the freight rate for VLCCs from West Africa to the Far East at $19.21/mt on Aug. 13, while the comparable route on a Suezmax was assessed at $42.58/mt.

As a result, all of Niger's crude has been shipped to the Netherlands and Italy since February, with one to three cargoes leaving Seme each month. Refiners in Malaysia and Singapore, which bought significant volumes of Meleck crude in 2024, are yet to purchase any this year.

Niger's government could not be reached for comment.