20100803
reuters

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's military rulers for the first time have given their public approval to a multi-billion dollar Chinese oil deal signed by the former president, who was ousted by the army in a February coup.

Former President Mamadou Tandja signed a $5 billion production-sharing agreement for the Agadem oil block with Chinese state-owned CNPC in 2008. However, rights groups have complained the deal lacked transparency and said it should be part of a popular military-led probe of Tandja-era contracts.

But junta chief General Salou Djibo has given his approval of the deal.

"The production-sharing agreement with CNPC allows us, if we manage it well, to guarantee better returns for our country," he said in a statement on national television late on Monday.

CNPC's key assets are operated by listed arm PetroChina.

The idea of a probe into contracts signed under Tandja is a popular move but no deals have yet been cancelled and analysts doubt the junta would challenge the Chinese or the French nuclear giant Areva, which also has billions invested there.

China's ambassador to Niamey said in April that its oil and mining deals in Niger would not be affected by the February 18 coup.

The Agadem oil block has an estimated reserves of 325 million barrels and should come online in three years.

The project is also due to include a 20,000 barrel-per-day refinery, exceeding the country's 7,000 barrel-per-day needs, and offering the impoverished nation, which imports 80 percent of its electricity from Nigeria, the chance to export fuel.