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Niger signed a $1.9 billion agreement on Saturday with Zimar Group and High Tech to build a 100,000-barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical complex in Dosso.
Operating under a build-operate-transfer framework, the consortium will construct the facility over three years and manage operations for 13 years before transferring ownership to the Nigerien government.
Once operational, the complex will rank among West Africa’s largest refining projects, trailing only Nigeria’s Dangote Refinery and Ghana’s Sentuo Oil Refinery.
The project expands Niger’s refining capacity fivefold beyond its existing 20,000-bpd Zinder refinery, allowing the landlocked nation to supply refined petroleum products both domestically and to neighbouring regional markets.
In addition to refining units, the development encompasses pipelines, storage facilities, and an industrial petrochemical hub.
Zimar Group CEO Benjamin Day Marc highlighted that the company plans to “develop the infrastructure needed to support the refinery and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, with a focus on training Nigerien workers,” while processing crude for local consumption and regional export.
The agreement advances a 2024 memorandum of understanding into a formal public-private partnership, though financial execution remains the next hurdle.
The Nigerien government has granted the consortium four months to mobilise capital and complete detailed engineering, with full financial closure required within 12 months.
If the developers meet these deadlines, the complex will strengthen Niger’s position within the Alliance of Sahel States by supplying critical fuel to landlocked neighbours such as Burkina Faso and Mali.
