Benin allows loading of first vessel with crude from Niger- minister

Benin has authorized the loading of the first vessel with crude oil from the Niger-Benin oil pipeline after a meeting with Chinese partners, the West African nation's mines minister said on Wednesday. Last week in an escalation of tensions with its neighbour, Benin said it had blocked exports from Niger via its port, demanding junta-led Niger reopen its border to goods and normalize relations before crude shipments can restart.

Benin has authorized the loading of the first vessel with crude oil from the Niger-Benin oil pipeline after a meeting with Chinese partners, the West African nation's mines minister said on Wednesday.

Last week in an escalation of tensions with its neighbour, Benin said it had blocked exports from Niger via its port, demanding junta-led Niger reopen its border to goods and normalize relations before crude shipments can restart. Minister Samou Seidou Adambi told reporters the authorization was provisional and did not mean a return to a normal exploitation of the pipeline.

The nearly 2,000 km (1,243-mile) PetroChina -backed pipeline was officially launched in November linking Niger's Agadem oilfield to the Benin port of Cotonou. The pipeline is expected to enable Benin export around 90,000 barrels of a day.

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