Algeria Sends 53 Fuel Tankers to Niger as Shortage Bites
Niger has received 53 trucks carrying 1.65 million litres of petroleum products from Algeria to ease a fuel shortage across the country.
Petroleum Minister Hamadou Tini received the first fleet of Algeria-flagged tankers in Agadez on Sunday, accompanied by Algeria’s ambassador and the head of the national petroleum products company, Sonidep. The consignment responded to a request from Sonidep, and the government thanked Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for facilitating it. The convoy reached northern Niger on Saturday evening under a joint Nigerien and Algerian military escort.
Niger attributes the shortage to a wider global crisis of conflicts, supply and logistics disruptions and price fluctuations. A crisis committee chaired by the Prime Minister coordinates the response. Tini said crude production alone does not guarantee fuel at the pump, because refining, transport, storage and distribution also matter. Agadez’s governor had said in September that talks were under way to supply the Agadez and Tahoua regions via this route, citing rising needs from market gardening and gold panning.
The shipment is significant given how little fuel the two countries have traded. Niger’s imports of petroleum oils from Algeria were worth just $31,740 in 2024. The delivery is also modest next to demand. Rio Times analysis estimated that refinery output is roughly 1.4 million litres a day below demand, which is close to a day’s shortfall.
