Madar (Niamey) - Niger's Petroleum Minister Hamadou Tini on Sunday, November 1, 2026, received 53 tankers in Agadez, in the north of the country, carrying 1.65 million litres of fuel that Nigerien authorities bought from Algeria at a preferential price under bilateral cooperation, the public daily Le Sahel reported.
The minister, accompanied by Algeria's ambassador to Niger Saadi Ahmed and the director general of fuel distributor SONIDEP, watched the unloading at the Agadez depot. The paper described the cargo as major support for SONIDEP amid supply difficulties the country has faced for several months. The ambassador hailed this "first operation" delivering fuel by a convoy of Algerian tankers.
RFI had reported that a convoy of about sixty tankers escorted by Algerian soldiers reached Agadez on Saturday, joined at the border by Nigerien forces, a week after Algeria's parliament authorised sending troops.
At a press briefing in Agadez, Tini said the delivery "goes beyond a simple commercial transaction," continuing agreements signed in Algiers in June 2026 between SONIDEP and Sonatrach to buy petroleum products on better terms than world market prices; several shipments of Jet A1 aviation fuel have already been made.
The minister acknowledged that the difficulties come amid international tensions on energy markets, but said these external factors "cannot exempt" the country from its responsibilities, adding that refining capacity does not always cover national needs, hence the need to improve refining, processing and storage.
He said the government had set up a crisis committee, driven by the president and coordinated by the prime minister, backed by a technical committee with four sub-committees. Measures include diversifying supply sources, cooperation with partners led by Algeria, better coordination between SONIDEP, the SORAZ refinery and distributors, and close monitoring of stocks.
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune had said sending army units to Niger rests on national security considerations, while several sources quoted by RFI said an Algerian unit could be based in Niamey.
