The Federal Government has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Republic of Niger for the transportation and storage of petroleum products. This was following a bilateral agreement between President Muhammadu Buhari and President Mahamadou Issoufou of Niger. The Special Adviser on media to the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Garba Deen Muhammad made this known in a statement on Thursday in FCT, Abuja,
saying that the MoU was signed by the Group Managing Director of the Nigeria National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari, and the Director-General of the Societe Nigerienne Des Produits Petroliers (SONIDEP), Alio Toune.
Muhammad explained that the agreement was signed under the supervision of the two countries' Ministers of State for Petroleum, Mr. Timipre Sylva and Foumakoye Gado as well as the Secretary-General of the African Petroleum Producers Organisation (APPO), Omar Ibrahim.
He added that the Soraz Refinery in Zinder, situated 260 kilometres from the Nigerian border, has the capacity to refine 20,000 barrels per day. This will leave the country with 15,000 surplus of petroleum product as the country's requirement is 5,000 barrels per day.
Speaking, Sylva commended the development, saying the MoU is an effort towards developing better trade relations between the two countries.
