Niger and Benin have signed a bilateral agreement on the construction of a pipeline which would enable landlocked Niger to export crude oil through the port of its neighbour. The pipeline project is set to be of high importance for landlocked Niger, whose nascent oil industry and growing output ambitions are contingent on the availability of an export option, as production is currently limited to the capacity of the country’s sole refinery. The implementation of a commercially viable export option would diminish barriers to increased crude oil production, enabling Niger’s upstream sector to grow.

Niger and Benin have signed a bilateral agreement on the construction of a pipeline which would enable landlocked Niger to export crude oil through the port of its neighbour. On January 23, 2019 Niger’s and Benin’s Petroleum Ministers signed a bilateral agreement for the construction of a 2,000km-long pipeline running from Nigerien oil fields in the Agadem basin to Benin’s Cotonou port. The pipeline, which could reportedly start operating by 2022, is projected to cost between USD2-4bn. Officials announced that feasibility studies were set to start in the coming weeks, with the aim of first construction groundworks starting before end 2019. The pipeline would be managed by companies set up by China’s National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for this purpose in both transit countries with possible participation of the host governments.

The pipeline project is set to be of high importance for landlocked Niger, whose nascent oil industry and growing output ambitions rely on the availability of an export option, as production is currently limited to the capacity of the country’s sole refinery. Niger currently produces around 20,000 b/d of crude oil and condensates, all of which is refined at the Chinese-built Société de Raffinage de Zinder (SORAZ) refinery and sold domestically, with some limited sales to regional importers in Mali, Burkina Faso and Nigeria. The refinery produces gasoline, diesel, fuel oil and LPG.

Source: https://www.fitchsolutions.com/corporates/oil-gas/pipeline-through-benin-attractive-crude-export-option-landlocked-niger-07-02-2019?amp

Lol if Nigerians didn't bomb everything maybe they would export through Nigeria. It makes sense why they're more interested in exporting crude to Katsina refinery than refining in their own crude. The chad Cameroon option is less less expensive but both countries will want their cut.

The first phase of construction requires an investment of $4 billion between 2019 and 2021. The total through completion is expected to be $7 billion, the presidency said.

Oil accounts for 4% of GDP in Niger. By 2022, it's expected to represent 24%, according to the government.

Benin should look to buy the oil so they're not zo dependent on Nigerian oil.