Niger will deliver 150 million liters of diesel to Mali

                          The price of a barrel of oil increased in the last quarter (Photo illustration) Disclosure

Bamako - Niger is preparing to deliver 150 million liters of diesel to Mali to supply the country's power plants, affected by recurring power cuts, the Malian presidency announced this Tuesday.

The head of the Malian junta, Colonel Assimi Goïta, received the Minister of Petroleum of Niger, Mahaman Moustapha Barke, on Tuesday to finalize "a partnership agreement for the sale of 150 million liters of diesel to Mali", declared the presidency Maliana through a statement.

"These fuels will be used by Energie du Mali (EDM-SA) to supply the country's various power plants," said Barke, quoted in the press release.

With a debt of more than 200 billion CFA francs (around 300 million euros), Mali's national energy company is no longer able to supply electricity to the capital and other cities in the country.

The degradation of the electricity supply is causing widespread exasperation among the approximately 11 million Malians who have access to electricity, that is, half the population of this country governed by a junta since a coup d'état in 2020 and where a large part of the territory is plagued by the expansion of armed groups, particularly extremists.

In February, Niger announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the supply of diesel to Burkina Faso, Mali and Chad, countries ranked among the poorest in the world and governed by military regimes.

The first three countries joined together to form the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) and, in February, announced their withdrawal from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

In November, Niger authorities inaugurated a giant pipeline that will transport crude oil extracted from the Agadem field (southeast) to neighboring Benin, through the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), an oil company owned by the Chinese state.

The authorities of Niger announced, on April 13, that they obtained a loan of 400 million dollars (around 376.2 million euros) from their Chinese partner, as an "advance" on the next sales of crude oil, which should begin be commercialized in May.

The country intends to increase its oil production to 110 thousand barrels per day, of which 90 thousand barrels will be exported. J.M.