Partnership between Algeria and Niger within the oil, gas, and power industries has returned to the forefront of the regional agenda. The two nations are actively working to solidify these ties, focusing primarily on guiding Niger through the expansion of its extraction industry and the realization of several joint infrastructure assets. To advance this agenda, Algerian ministers overseeing hydrocarbons and energy hosted their Nigerien peers on Tuesday in Algiers.
Mohamed Arkab, Minister of State for Hydrocarbons, met with Abdoul Karim Mohamed Ali, Secretary General of Niger’s Ministry of Petroleum, who led a visiting delegation. Their talks centered on expanding bilateral coordination across the entire oil and gas value chain. Specific focus areas included refining, petrochemicals, drilling operations, and downstream distribution network expansion in Niger with help from Sonatrach’s retail arm, Naftal. The agenda also prioritized boosting local content policies and exchanging technical data management and environmental standards expertise.
The two parties reaffirmed a shared commitment to deepening the Algerian-Nigerien alliance in the extractive sector, intensifying technical and scientific exchanges between state enterprises, and fostering cross-border African economic integration within the petroleum industry, according to an official ministerial statement.
Held in the presence of the Director General of Niger’s National Petroleum Corporation (Sonidep) and senior staff from both sides, the session was part of a broader working visit by a high-ranking Nigerien delegation led by the Minister of State for Internal Affairs and Public Security. During the meeting, Arkab reiterated Algeria’s readiness—via the state-backed energy group Sonatrach and its subsidiaries—to assist Niger in scaling up its hydrocarbon industry. This will be achieved through the transfer of Algerian industrial know-how and by ramping up specialized training initiatives for Nigerien professionals at the Algerian Petroleum Institute (IAP) and other Sonatrach learning centers.
For its part, the Nigerien delegation praised the depth of current cooperation, commending the comprehensive technical itinerary arranged for their visit and acknowledging Sonatrach’s extensive experience as a foundational driver of energy talent development across the African continent.
Concurrently, efforts are underway to solidify electricity partnerships. This objective was championed by Mourad Adjal, Minister of Energy and Renewable Energies, during his meeting with his Nigerien counterpart, Amadou Haoua.
Adjal outlined the current status of bilateral collaboration, highlighting major milestones reached in the construction of an electrical generation plant currently being built by the Sonelgaz group on behalf of Niger. He pointed to several issues labeled as high-priority, notably grid rehabilitation, structural overhaul, and the digitization of Niger’s domestic power networks using modern high-efficiency software systems.
He also stressed the necessity of backing human capital and empowering local Nigerien engineering firms involved in infrastructure creation. This support will take the form of specialized training tracks hosted at Sonelgaz institutions, focusing on core technical trades required for the utility sector.
The Nigerien minister expressed great satisfaction with the level of integration achieved between the two energy departments, praising the record-breaking construction timelines achieved on the capital city Niamey’s new power plant. She additionally introduced a suite of priority projects that she noted would require Algeria’s targeted support and technical expertise to bring to fruition.