NIAMEY (Reuters) – Niger expelled three Chinese oil executives in a dispute over disparities between the salaries of expatriate staff and lower-paid local workers, Oil Minister Sahabi Oumarou said.
Reuters reported last week that Niger’s junta had ordered three Chinese officials working in the oil sector to leave within 48 hours.
The officials were Niger-based directors of the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC), the West African Oil Pipeline Company (WAPCo) and the joint venture oil refinery SORAZ.
“We are not satisfied with the way in which wealth is distributed between the state of Niger and the partner,” Oumarou told journalists on Wednesday.
The average salary of a Chinese employee in Niger last year was $8,678 per month, compared with $1,200 for an employee from Niger in the same post, he said.
There was also a high concentration of expatriates in managerial positions, while Nigeriens tended to fill less significant roles as operators or labourers, he said.
There had been several attempts to address the issue, the minister added, but the disparities had persisted, prompting the expulsions.
“We are still always open to discussions,” he told the press briefing.
WAPCo and CNPC did not immediately reply to requests for comment. SORAZ could not be reached for comment.
Several governments in the restive Sahel region – including Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali – have been seeking to assert greater control over their resources.
Niger’s partnership with China began in 2008 with a $5 billion agreement to develop oil in east Niger.
Last year, the junta-led West African country and CNPC signed a $400 million memorandum of understanding for shipments of oil in the Agadem oilfield.
(Reporting by Boureima Balima; Additional reporting and writing by Ayen Deng Bior; Editing by Sofia Christensen Andrew Heavens)
