Mali: Agreement for diesel delivery from Niger to tackle energy crisis
Soon Niger will deliver over 150 million liters of diesel to Mali to power the country’s power plants, which are facing recurrent power outages, according to an announcement made by the Malian government on Tuesday, April 16, 2024.
The transitional President of Mali met with the Nigerien Minister of Petroleum on Tuesday, during which this partnership agreement was concluded. « This fuel will be destined for the Mali Energy Company (EDM-SA) to supply the country’s various power plants », Mr. Barke specified, as cited in the statement.
Burdened by a debt of over 200 billion FCFA, Mali’s national energy company can no longer ensure electricity coverage for the capital and other areas of the country. This agreement would be a relief for the Malian people who have been facing deteriorating electricity supply for some time, causing distress in society.
Recall that in February, Niger announced the signing of a memorandum of understanding on the supply of diesel to Burkina Faso, Mali, and Chad following the inauguration of a giant pipeline to transport crude oil extracted from the Agadem field (southeast) to neighboring Benin by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), a state-owned Chinese oil company.
Following this, the Nigerien authorities announced on April 13 that they had obtained a $400 million loan from their Chinese partner as an advance payment on future crude oil sales, with commercialization set to begin in May, with a daily production of 110.000 barrels.
