Stop for months by the coronavirus pandemic, construction of the 1980 km pipeline between Niger and the Republic of Benin has begun. The work is being implemented  by the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), now known as China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd (CPP).

The China Petroleum Pipeline Engineering Co. Ltd. has begun construction work on a 1,980 km diameter 20-inch pipeline that will transport crude from the Agadem Rift Basin (ARB) in the Republic of Niger to the Republic of Benin's Atlantic Oil Terminal in the port of Sèmè -Kraké. The project is expected to increase Niger's oil production from the current 20,000 barrels per day to 120,000 barrels per day after the pipeline is completed in 2024. Known as the Niger-Benin Export Pipeline (NBEP), the $7 billion pipeline, which was launched by the governments of Niger and Benin last month, will run from Agadem in Niger to the Republic of Benin. The pipeline would allow the transport of all proven crude reserves to Niger for export in order to earn foreign exchange for the Nigerien government and developers. In January 2019, the Minister of Petroleum Resources of the Republic of Niger and the Minister of Water and Mines of Benin signed a bilateral agreement for the construction of the pipeline, and later in August, CNPC has signed a contract with the Government of Benin for the construction and operation of the Niger-Benin pipeline.

The $1,982,7 billion pipeline would run from the Agadem oil field in Niger, connect to cnpc's zinder, Niger-built refinery, and end at the Port of Seme Terminal in Benin, allowing CNPC to export Nigerien oil. In September 2019, the CNPC signed a transport agreement with the two governments and began construction, with then-Nigerien President Mahamadou Issoufou laying the foundation stone and giving the project full approval. In February 2020, the NCPC suspended all construction work due to the COVID-19 pandemic. With the coronavirus affliction raging in China, CNPC was unable to transfer employees from China and was concerned about the spread of the disease among construction workers. In October 2020, it was reported that the CNPC had begun the detailed design of the pipeline and that a consortium of companies related to the CNPC had completed the engineering of the onshore section of the project, including 675 kilometers that will cross Benin and 1,275 kilometers through Niger.