Niger Gives Consortium Four Months to Fund $1.9bn Refinery

Niger has given the consortium behind its proposed 100,000-barrel-per-day refinery four months to secure financing and complete detailed engineering for the $1.9 billion project in Dosso.

The deadline sets the next major test for the refinery, which is planned to process Nigerien crude for local use and supply surplus products to neighbouring countries.

The agreement covers the design, financing, construction, operation and eventual transfer of the refinery to the Nigerien government. Financial close, when the project funding is formally secured, is expected within 12 months.

Zimar Group chief executive officer Benjamin Day Marc said the company plans to develop infrastructure needed to support the refinery and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs. He said the project would also focus on training Nigerien workers.

The financing deadline is significant because the project has yet to secure the capital needed to progress from an agreement to construction. The government has set four months for the consortium to mobilise financing and finish detailed engineering.

From agreement to construction

The Dosso refinery project dates back to a memorandum of understanding signed by Niger and Zimar in October 2024. That agreement also proposed a refinery with a capacity of 100,000 barrels per day, with earlier plans indicating that development could be carried out in phases.

The new agreement places the project under a formal public-private partnership and build-operate-transfer arrangement.

Under the arrangement, private partners will handle the refinery's development and operation before its eventual transfer to the Nigerien government.

Marc said the refinery would use crude produced in Niger to meet domestic demand. Surplus petroleum products could then be supplied to neighbouring countries.

That plan is particularly relevant to Niger because the country is landlocked and relies heavily on external supply chains for fuel.

A refinery within the country could give Niger a domestic source of refined petroleum products if the project secures funding and reaches construction.

Niger began exporting crude through the Niger-Benin oil pipeline in 2024. The new export route opened access to international markets and has been followed by plans to develop more downstream petroleum capacity.

The government wants more value from the country's petroleum resources to stay within Niger. The Dosso refinery is part of that effort, with local crude intended for processing inside the country.

Regional supply plan

The proposed refinery could also supply petroleum products to Burkina Faso and Mali, two neighbouring landlocked countries that face major energy and transport challenges.

Such supplies could give the project a regional market in addition to Niger's domestic demand. The project could also strengthen Niger's position within the Alliance of Sahel States if production reaches the planned capacity and surplus fuel becomes available for neighbouring countries.

For Niger's military-led government, the refinery also fits its policy of diversifying international economic partnerships and processing natural resources within the country.

The project is expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, with training planned for Nigerien workers. The planned infrastructure would support the refinery and its operations.

Financing, for now, is the main hurdle before construction can begin. The consortium must secure the required capital and complete detailed engineering within the four-month period set by the Nigerien government.

Financial close is expected within 12 months. If the consortium eventually meets that requirement and construction proceeds, the 100,000-barrel-per-day Dosso refinery would become one of Niger's biggest industrial investments and give the country a larger place in the West African petroleum market.