Niger–Benin crude export pipeline (WAPCO): financing, land compensation and the June 2024 sabotage spill
- The same assessment says the pipeline disrupts the surface flows of the Niger River, which it describes as a wetland. Bureau National d'Évaluation Environnementale (Niger)
- In June 2024 a crude slick covered more than 370 metres of my bush in Tesker department, with many dead birds and vegetation covered in crude, according to images shown on Télé Sahel and reported by AFP. AFP via Le360 Afrique
The WAPCO pipeline carries Niger's crude from the Agadem block to Benin's coast, financed by CNPC's finance arm. Niger's impact study identified forest and wetland impacts, Benin paid land compensation under a 2020 law, and a sabotage in June 2024 left a crude slick over more than 370 metres in Zinder region.
Financed 80:20 debt to equity. Benin's section cost 608 billion FCFA, according to the Benin government.
Status As of the latest reports on the June 2024 sabotage: Zinder prosecutor's inquiry opened, outcome not reported; no spill volume, clean-up cost or compensation published.
- Expropriated landholders in Benin — Compensated under law no. 2020-04; some still occupied the land in November 2023 AllAfrica (from acotonou.com)
- Forest, farmland, pasture and the Niger River wetland along the route — Negative impacts listed in Niger's impact assessment, including the Foga Béri forest Bureau National d'Évaluation Environnementale (Niger)
- Bush and birds at Tesker — Crude slick over more than 370 m, many dead birds and vegetation covered, June 2024 AFP via Le360 Afrique
What happened
On 20 September 2018 the Government of Niger and CNODC/CNPC signed a framework agreement, followed by a Niger–Benin bilateral agreement on 23 January 2019. WAPCo-Niger was incorporated on 26 April 2019 and construction started in Niger in September 2019. Works were launched in Benin on 20 May 2021; the pipeline became operational in November 2023, and the first cargo of about 1 million barrels left Benin's waters in May 2024, according to the Benin government as reported by AFP.
Niger's environmental and social impact assessment, presented by the Bureau National d'Évaluation Environnementale (BNEE) in March 2023, covers 1,293 km in Niger across 16 departments (Diffa 150 km, Zinder 421, Maradi 231, Tahoua 211, Dosso 280), with 6 pumping stations and 37 valve stations. Its stated negative impacts include loss of farmland and pasture, loss of rural livelihoods, occupation of forest zones (the Foga Béri forest) and disruption of the surface flows of the Niger River, described as a wetland. Horizontal directional drilling is planned for river crossings, and a convention lets BNEE monitor impacts. The study's stated target is 'zero accidents/incidents, zero pollution'. In Benin the route crosses 5 departments, 17 communes and 141 villages.
AidData records a loan from CNPC Finance (HK) Ltd to WAPCo-Niger (CNPC 85%, Niger 15%) of about $1.04 bn, an estimate whose face value is unknown, at an estimated rate of 8.05% and collateralised by crude sale proceeds. For Benin, the government said works costing 608 billion FCFA were funded by WAPCO-Bénin; AidData estimates a CNPC Finance (HK) loan of about $840 m. On 20 November 2023 Benin's energy minister said expropriation compensation had been paid under law no. 2020-04 of 8 May 2020, and that some expropriated people at Ifangni, Avrankou and Adjarra still occupied the land despite their commitment to vacate it on receiving payment.
On 16–17 June 2024 a section of the pipeline was sabotaged in Tesker department, Zinder region. The armed group FPL claimed the attack in a statement signed by Mahamoud Sallah, calling it a 'first warning to the Niamey junta' and demanding the cancellation of an advance agreed with CNPC, and Niger's authorities confirmed the sabotage. Télé Sahel showed a crude slick over more than 370 metres in the bush, with many dead birds and vegetation covered in crude. Zinder prosecutor Ousmane Baydo opened an inquiry, and the governor, Col. Issoufou Labo, said everyone who contributed would be arrested and tried for their 'terrorist act'. In Benin, three Nigerien nationals arrested at Sèmè-Kpodji in June 2024 received 18-month suspended sentences for impersonation and use of falsified computer data.
- 2018Framework agreement between the Government of Niger and CNODC/CNPC (20 September)
- 2019Niger–Benin bilateral agreement (23 January); WAPCo-Niger incorporated (26 April); construction starts in Niger (September)
- 2021Works launched in Benin (20 May)
- 2023Niger's impact assessment presented by BNEE (March); Benin communiqué on compensation (20 November); pipeline operational (November)
- 2024First cargo of about 1 million barrels (May); sabotage in Tesker (16–17 June); arrests and suspended sentences in Benin (June)
What was said
“first warning to the Niamey junta”
“everyone who contributed will be arrested and tried for their terrorist act”
“the largest investment ever made in Benin's history since independence”
“their commitment to vacate the land on receiving their expropriation payments”
“zero accidents/incidents, zero pollution”
How it looked
Shown
- A crude slick over more than 370 metres in the bush, with many dead birdsTélé Sahel, as reported by AFP via Le360 · AFP via Le360 Afrique
- A pipeline with a stated target of zero accidents and zero pollutionBNEE impact-assessment presentation, March 2023 · Bureau National d'Évaluation Environnementale (Niger)
Recorded
- Niger's impact assessment lists loss of farmland and pasture, loss of rural livelihoods, occupation of forest zones (Foga Béri forest) and disruption of the surface flows of the Niger River as negative impacts.
- Niger section: loan of about $1.04 bn from CNPC Finance (HK) Ltd to WAPCo-Niger (CNPC 85%, Niger 15%) at an estimated rate of 8.05%, collateralised by crude sale proceeds (AidData estimates).
- Benin section: 608 billion FCFA funded by WAPCO-Bénin; AidData estimates a CNPC Finance (HK) loan of about $840 m and expected Benin revenue of $884.6 m in transit fees and $109 m in taxes.
- Benin's expropriation compensation was paid under law no. 2020-04 of 8 May 2020.
- June 2024 sabotage in Tesker: a crude slick over more than 370 metres, dead birds and vegetation covered in crude.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- niger-government (June 2024): The governor of Zinder said everyone who contributed to the sabotage would be arrested and tried for their terrorist act; the Zinder prosecutor opened an inquiry. · AFP via Le360 Afrique
- benin-government (20 November 2023): The energy minister said expropriation compensation had been paid under law no. 2020-04 of 8 May 2020. · AllAfrica (from acotonou.com)
- benin-government (20 May 2021): Described the Benin section as the largest investment in Benin's history since independence. · Gouvernement du Bénin
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2024–No defendant leftZinder prosecutor's inquiry into the June 2024 sabotageZinder prosecutor's office · Criminal · Zinder prosecutor Ousmane Baydo → No defendant named
The prosecutor opened an inquiry after the 16–17 June 2024 sabotage at Tesker. The governor said all who contributed would be arrested and tried. No outcome is on record. AFP via Le360 Afrique
- 2024–2024Claimant wonSentences in Benin of three Nigerien nationals arrested at Sèmè-KpodjiCourt in Benin (not named) · Criminal · Prosecutors → Three Nigerien nationals
In June 2024 three Nigerien nationals arrested at Sèmè-Kpodji received 18-month suspended sentences for impersonation and use of falsified computer data (AFP). AFP via Connaissance des Énergies
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Money
- None on record Clean-up of the June 2024 Tesker spill — No amount on record.
- None on record Mitigation costs listed as a component of Niger's environmental and social management plan — The presentation lists the component without figures.
- None on record Benin section, as stated by the Benin government: 608 billion FCFA — FCFA figure; no conversion.
Record
- None on record None on record: a volume, clean-up cost or compensation figure for the June 2024 Tesker spill.
- None on record None on record: the outcome of the Zinder prosecutor's inquiry into the June 2024 sabotage.
- None on record None on record: a statement from WAPCO or CNPC on spills.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the cost of the mitigation measures in Niger's environmental and social management plan; the BNEE presentation lists them as a component without figures.
- None on record None on record: environmental impact assessment information on AidData's project pages for the pipeline.
- None on record None on record: any mention of compensation or environmental impacts in the Benin government's 2021 launch article.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the face value of the CNPC Finance (HK) loan for the Niger section; $1.04 bn is AidData's estimate.
- Not disclosed Not disclosed: the total compensation paid in Niger and Benin, and the number of affected people.
Did the harm stop?
None on record.
Who paid?
The pipeline is financed by loans from CNPC Finance (HK) Ltd to WAPCo-Niger and WAPCO-Bénin, collateralised in Niger by crude sale proceeds. No source states who paid for the June 2024 clean-up.
Sources
Government and regulators
- Étude d'impact environnemental et social du projet de construction et d'exploitation d'un pipeline, du bloc Agadem à la frontière nigéro-béninoise (SIFEE presentation)Bureau National d'Évaluation Environnementale (Niger) · 2023-03
- Construction pipeline export Niger-Bénin: travaux officiellement lancésGouvernement du Bénin · 2021-05-20
Press and investigations
- Niger: éruption « exceptionnelle » d'or noir sur un site pétrolier dans le nord-est (first cargo of about 1 million barrels, May 2024)AFP via Connaissance des Énergies · 2026-10-13
- Construction du pipeline Niger-Bénin: ce que la partie béninoise demande aux occupants de l'emprise du projetAllAfrica (from acotonou.com) · 2023-11-20
- Niger: un mouvement rebelle annonce avoir mis « hors d'usage » une partie d'un oléoducAFP via Connaissance des Énergies · 2024-06-18
- Niger: les autorités confirment « le sabotage » d'un oléoduc par un groupe rebelleAFP via Le360 Afrique · 2024-06-22
Researchers
- CPFHK loan for Niger section of Niger-Benin Oil Pipeline (Project 58435)AidData · 2026-10-19
- CPFHK loan for Benin section of Niger-Benin Oil Pipeline (Project 96034)AidData · 2026-10-19
Connected cases
- Termit and Tin Toumma National Nature Reserve: 2019 boundary change around CNPC oil blocks Niger · 2012–2023 Related matter
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: Holds exploration rights in part of the reserve; investment of about $5 billion
- Government of Niger (Government) — here: 15% owner of WAPCo-Niger; environmental assessment through BNEE; inquiry into the sabotage; there: Announced the boundary change on 26 June 2019
- Goumeri W-8 well eruption at the Agadem oil block, Niger (2026) Niger · 2026 Related matter
- Government of Niger (Government) — here: 15% owner of WAPCo-Niger; environmental assessment through BNEE; inquiry into the sabotage; there: Ministry of Petroleum; announced the investigation and precautionary measures
- Aïr and Ténéré Natural Reserves, World Heritage in Danger: mining permits, gold panning and the funding gap Niger · 2025–2026
- Government of Niger (Government) — here: 15% owner of WAPCo-Niger; environmental assessment through BNEE; inquiry into the sabotage; there: State Party; steps to revoke three mining permits
- Al-Jaili refinery fires and wartime damage in Khartoum, 2023–2025 Sudan · 2023–2025
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: Co-owner of the refinery
- Arlit and Akokan uranium waste: Cominak closure, remediation provision and radioactivity measurements Niger · 1974–2026
- Government of Niger (Government) — here: 15% owner of WAPCo-Niger; environmental assessment through BNEE; inquiry into the sabotage; there: Said Orano abandoned the rehabilitation; announced proceedings
- Buzachi Operating: KZT 8.4 billion for gas losses and unauthorised flaring (Mangystau, 2025) Kazakhstan · 2019–2026
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: 50% owner
- CNPC crude dumping in the Bongor basin: US$1.2 billion fine and US$400 million settlement Chad · 2013–2015
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: Parent of the operating unit CNPC International Chad
- Hoor al-Azim wetland, oil-field development and dikes in Khuzestan Iran · 2007–2026
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: South Azadegan contractor (US$2.5 billion)
- Mangistaumunaigas fines for wastewater injection, drilling waste and furnace emissions (Mangystau, 2024) Kazakhstan · 2024–2025
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: 50% owner
- Somaïr nationalisation, Orano's ICSID arbitration and the Niger uranium stock Niger · 2023–2026
- Government of Niger (Government) — here: 15% owner of WAPCo-Niger; environmental assessment through BNEE; inquiry into the sabotage; there: Nationalised Somaïr; cancelled the Arlit concession
- South Sudan oil fields: pollution in Unity and Upper Nile South Sudan · 1999–2025
- China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) (Company) — here: Majority owner and, through CNPC Finance (HK), lender; there: Named by AP among companies that did not respond