During his visit to the national headquarters of Sonatrach, the Nigerien Minister of Petroleum spoke with the CEO of the national company, Rachid Hachichi, on the “possibilities of strengthening cooperation relations in the field of hydrocarbons.”
The national hydrocarbon company Sonatrach and the Niger national oil company Sonidep signed yesterday a memorandum of understanding to open new areas for bilateral cooperation, particularly in the exploration and exploitation of hydrocarbons, as well as in the field of refining, petrochemicals, marketing and distribution of petroleum products.
“The signing of this memorandum of understanding reflects Sonatrach’s ambition to develop and strengthen the partnership with Nigerien companies following exchange programs, particularly those related to specialized training,” underlines a press release from the national company. “This approach, indicates the same source, is part of the Algerian-Nigerian cooperation and reflects the desire of the two countries to promote and advance bilateral relations.” The signing ceremony of this memorandum of understanding took place on the occasion of the visit yesterday of the Nigerien Minister of Petroleum, Sahabi Oumarou, to the headquarters of the general management of Sonatrach.
The Nigerien official, present in Algeria since September 28 for a working visit, made, during his stay, a trip to the Arzew refinery and at the level of which he stressed that his country was counting “on the support of Algeria for the realization of flagship energy projects in Niger.”
Sahabi Oumarou indicated that these two projects concerned the construction of a refinery and a petrochemical complex, which he said were “important for the development of the energy sector in Niger.” The refinery construction project “is currently maturing,” said the same official, expressing his country’s wish to benefit from Algeria’s support in the construction and assembly phases.
“Algeria is the pride of Africa”
The Nigerian minister affirms that “Algeria is the pride of Africa and that it can be a compass in terms of the realization of energy infrastructures in African countries.”
During his visit to the national headquarters of Sonatrach, the Nigerien minister spoke with the CEO of the national company, Rachid Hachichi, on the “possibilities of strengthening their cooperation relations in the field of hydrocarbons and the development of the research and exploration project led by Sonatrach in the Kafra oil field, in the north of Niger, experiencing significant progress” indicates the Sonatrach press release.
The two parties also discussed the modalities of exchanging expertise in various aspects related to the hydrocarbon value chain, including refining, petrochemicals, and training.
Regarding the progress of the strategic project of the trans-Saharan gas pipeline, the officials of the two countries stressed “the importance of continuing coordination between the three countries concerned to ensure the implementation and concretization of the decisions taken previously.”
The Nigerien Minister of Petroleum stated on this subject that this project “will provide a major boost to the economic and social development of the three countries.” This is to underline his country’s readiness to resume consultations and hold a trilateral meeting in the coming weeks.
