Niger’s Sonidep loses monopoly

Following months of tension between the Chinese owners of the loss-making Société de Raffinage de Zinder (Soraz) refinery and state distributor Société Nigérienne des Produits Pétroliers (Sonidep), the government has agreed to end Sonidep’s monopoly, paving the way for production to increase. In future, Soraz and Sonidep will both be authorised to export petroleum products. Once domestic demand has been met, they will share the surplus for export on a 50/50 basis, at a price fixed each month.