Canada’s Zimar to build $1.9 billion refinery complex in Niger

Investing.com -- Canadian industrial energy company Zimar Inc. will build a $1.9 billion refinery and petrochemical complex in Niger, Bloomberg reported on Sunday, citing state-run Radio Television du Niger.

The planned facility will be constructed in Dosso, a city in southwestern Niger, and will have an estimated production capacity of 100,000 barrels per day.

Nigerien Foreign Minister Bakary Sangaré announced the project after officials signed the agreement in the capital, Niamey, on Saturday.

The contract took effect immediately and will run for 16 years. The agreement allocates three years for construction, followed by 13 years of operation.

Zimar will finance and develop the energy infrastructure, operate it for the agreed period and then transfer ownership to the Nigerien government.

The final agreement comes nearly two years after the parties signed an initial version in October 2024.

Niger subsequently ordered a review of the deal, leading to revisions before Saturday’s signing, Sangaré told the state broadcaster.

The project forms part of Niger’s broader effort to develop its petroleum reserves, which authorities estimate at about three billion barrels.

The country also began joint drilling with Algeria this week at the Kafra oil block in the Agadez region near their shared border.

Separately, Niger loaded its first cargo of Meleck crude oil from the Sèmè terminal in Benin on Friday with support from Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach, according to Algeria Press Service.

The refinery and petrochemical complex could give landlocked Niger more domestic capacity to process crude rather than relying mainly on exporting unrefined oil.

The project’s progress will depend on Zimar completing construction within the three-year timetable and securing the financing, equipment and infrastructure needed for a development of this scale.