Niger has signed a $1.9 billion agreement with Canada's Zimar Inc. to build a 100,000-barrel-per-day refinery and petrochemical complex in the southwestern city of Dosso.

The deal, inked on August 15 in the capital Niamey, follows a memorandum of understanding signed in October 2024.

Niger subsequently ordered a review of the initial terms, leading to revisions before Saturday's signing.

The agreement operates under a build-operate-transfer public-private partnership model. Zimar will finance, construct, and operate the facility before handing it over to the Nigerien state.

"The estimated cost of the project is $1.9 billion," Foreign Minister Bakary Sangaré told state-run Radio Television du Niger following the signing. "The agreement takes effect upon signature, and its total term is set at 16 years, comprising three years of construction and 13 years of operation".

The consortium has four months to secure financing and complete detailed engineering, with financial close expected within 12 months. Bakary Yaou Sangaré, who chairs the committee overseeing negotiations, said the deadlines will allow a monitoring committee "to track the execution of the partner's commitments and ensure that the project advances within a clear, secure framework that complies with national interests".

At 100,000 barrels per day, the Dosso refinery would rank among West Africa's largest, behind Nigeria's 700,000-bpd Dangote Refinery and Ghana's 120,000-bpd Sentuo Oil Refinery. It would represent a fivefold increase over Niger's existing 20,000-bpd Zinder refinery, operated by Société de Raffinage de Zinder.

The project includes pipelines, storage facilities, and a petrochemical complex, creating potential for an industrial hub.

The refinery advances Niger's push to process more crude domestically rather than relying primarily on exports. Niger began exporting crude through the Niger-Benin pipeline in 2024. Authorities estimate the country's petroleum reserves at approximately three billion barrels.

This week, Niger launched joint drilling with Algeria on the Kafra oil block in Agadez. On Friday, with support from Algerian state-owned Sonatrach, Niger loaded its first cargo of Meleck crude oil from Benin's Sèmè terminal.

For Niger's military-led government, the refinery fits a policy of diversifying international partnerships and transforming natural resources domestically. Surplus refined products could supply neighbouring Burkina Faso and Mali, both landlocked members of the Alliance of Sahel States facing significant energy challenges.

"The signing today marks an important step," Sangaré said. "It reflects Niger's desire to diversify its partners and to further transform its resources on its own soil".