Mohamed Arkab Visits Niger to Revive Energy Cooperation

Algeria took the initiative to restore channels of communication with the countries of the Sahel region.

The visit of the Minister of Energy, Mohamed Arkab, on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, to the State of Niger and his meeting with his counterpart, Niger’s Minister of Energy, Mahman Moustafa Barké, is an attempt to warm up bilateral relations that have witnessed a state of coldness for months.

During this meeting, the two ministers discussed the status of bilateral and historical cooperation and ways to enhance and develop it, especially in the hydrocarbons sector, which is the lever that can give a new impetus to bilateral relations that have been affected by light clouds, when the military authorities in charge of decision-making in Niamey were under siege even by their neighbours in the Economic Organization of West African States (ECOWAS).

Since the arrival of military leaders who came to power through coups in the Sahel region, in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso, new trends have emerged, including the abolition of the central authorities in Bamako, in the implementation of the peace and reconciliation agreement that was signed in Algeria under UN sponsorship, which caused a state of instability in the region, manifested by the ongoing fighting in northern Mali, which has taken dangerous turns in the last few days.

Algeria chose to use the economic card with its southern neighbour to avoid any interpretation or biased readings, as the two parties discussed the latest developments in the activities of the Algerian giant of the hydrocarbons sector, “Sonatrach”, in the Republic of Niger at the level of the oil field in the Kafra region, after signing, in February 2022, a contract to update and renew the contract of 2015, which aims to ensure a better assessment of the available reserves of hydrocarbons, based on the fields discovered during exploration.

During the meeting between Arkab and his Nigerien counterpart, the Algerian minister expressed his country’s readiness to transfer its expertise in the energy sector to the Niger side and accompany it in developing the petroleum industry, through the Sonatrach group, which is looking to strengthen the presence of its activity in the state of Niger, implement its contractual obligations and resume its activities represented in exploiting and sharing production of the Kafra oil field, as well as Algeria’s contribution to the training of Nigerian workers at the level of the Algerian Petroleum Institute (IAP), affiliated with Sonatrach.

Within this endeavour, the Algerian-Niger-NigeriaTrans-Saharan Gas Pipeline Project (TSGP), which passes through the State of Niger. The two ministers agreed to “continue coordination meetings” to study aspects of the project, and to review the implementation of the decisions taken during the meetings that brought together the three ministers of hydrocarbons from Algeria, Niger and Nigeria, the last of which was held in July 2022 in Algiers culminated, as is known, with the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Algeria, Niger and Nigeria to reaffirm the commitment of the three countries to continue and complete the work of expert teams to realize this project, which was described as very strategic.

Based on Minister Arkab’s statements, Algeria, Nigeria and Niger are convinced of the importance of the trans-Saharan gas pipeline project, in terms of its positive impact on the social and economic development of the three countries and the transit areas, in a special geopolitical and energy context, characterized by strong demand for fuels, especially natural gas, which has become a rare currency in the world, especially in Europe, after the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, which, as is known, pushed the European Union to search for alternatives to Russian gas, within the framework of the sanctions imposed on Moscow. A factor that made gas Algerian the most demanded by the old continent, given its proximity to consumption areas. Algeria also provides infrastructure ready for export via Italy and Spain, which is another factor that makes the Algerian-Nigeria-Niger TSGP the closest to embodiment and the most rational.