Delayed for months by the coronavirus pandemic, construction of the 1980 km pipeline between Niger and the Republic of Benin has begun. The facility is being implemented by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), now known as China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd (CPP)

The China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd. has begun construction of a 1,980 km 20-inch diameter pipeline that will transport crude oil from the Agadem Rift Basin (ARB) in the Republic of Niger to the Republic of Benin's Atlantic oil terminal in the port of Sèmes-Kraké. This facility is expected to increase Niger's oil production from the current 20,000 barrels per day to 120,000 barrels per day after the pipeline is completed in 2024. Known as the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline (NBEP), the $7 billion pipeline, which was launched by the governments of Niger and Benin last month, will run from Agadem in Niger to the Republic of Benin. The pipeline would allow all proven crude oil reserves to be transported to Niger for export in order to earn foreign exchange for the Nigerien government and developers. In January 2019, the Minister of Petroleum Resources of the Republic of Niger and the Minister of Water and Mines of Benin signed a bilateral agreement for the construction of the pipeline, and later in August, the CNPC signed a contract with the Government of Benin for the construction and operation of the Niger-Benin

The $1,982 km, $7 billion pipeline would start from the Agadem oil field in Niger, connect to the refinery built by CNPC in Zinder, Niger, and end at the port of Seme Terminal in Benin, allowing CNPC to export Nigerian oil. In September 2019, the CNPC signed a transport agreement with the two governments and began construction, with the then Nigerian president Mahamadou Issoufou laying the first stone and giving the project unreserved approval. In February 2020, the CNPC suspended all construction work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the coronavirus affliction raging in China, CNPC was unable to transfer employees from China and was worried about the spread of the disease among construction workers. In October 2020, it was reported that CNPC had begun the detailed design of the gas pipeline and that a consortium of CNPC-related companies had completed the engineering of the onshore section of the project, including 675 kilometers that will cross Benin and 1,275