OREANDA-NEWS. December 08, 2011. The ceremony celebrating the completion of the upstream and downstream integrated Agadem project and the inauguration of Zinder Refinery under the Sino-Niger oil and gas cooperation program was held at Niger’s southern city Zinder, putting an end to Niger’s reliance on oil imports and marking its shift into a producer and exporter of oil products, reported the press-centre of CNPC.

President of Niger Mahamadou Issoufou and CNPC Chairman Jiang Jiemin attended the inauguration ceremony and cut the ribbon together.

CNPC and the Nigerien government signed on June 2, 2008 a PSA agreement on the Agadem Block, covering three categories of upstream and downstream activities i.e. exploration and production, pipeline and refinery construction and ongoing operation. During the past three years, CNPC has searched for high-quality oil resources in a safe and efficient manner, leading to a substantial increase in proven oil reserves. Meanwhile, it has completed the construction of a 1 Mt/a crude oil production facility, 462 km oil pipeline and an oil refinery.

In addition to meeting domestic demand, the products of Zinder Refinery will be exported to the neighboring countries. An independent and complete structure of petroleum industry is taking shape in Niger.

Before the ceremony, CNPC and the Nigerien government signed a memorandum on the construction of oil transport highways.