- The new MoUs confirm the parties’ commitment to this strategic project, which is expected to enhance the gas resources of African countries and provide a unique alternative export route to Europe.
- The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project was announced in 2016 in Abuja by King Mohammed VI and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
Four more African countries, namely Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Guinea, and Benin, have signed memoranda of understanding with Morocco and Nigeria to participate in the flagship Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project. The signing took place at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, in the presence of Amina Benkhadra, the Director-General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines. The four new joining countries bring the total number of states involved in this project to ten, as these agreements are a continuation of the memoranda signed with ECOWAS, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Ghana last year.
The new MoUs confirm the parties’ commitment to this strategic project, which is expected to enhance the gas resources of African countries and provide a unique alternative export route to Europe. This project is expected to accelerate access to energy, improve living conditions for the population, and support the integration of regional economies. Amina Benkhadra stated that “the alliance represents a progressive step towards ensuring social and economic development, by ensuring energy security and achieving comprehensive development for Africa by Africans,” according to a press release published by the Nigerian National Oil Corporation (NNPC).
ECOWAs Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitization Sediko Douka underscored the importance of the gas pipeline project. He said it would help enhance electricity production and generation capacity, stimulate industrial and agricultural development, and contribute to achieving the energy transition by using a cleaner energy source than other fossil fuels.
The pipeline is expected to transport nearly 3 billion cubic feet of gas per day along the West African coast to Morocco and Europe, running over 7,000 kilometres, of which 1,672 km cross Morocco, and will benefit over 400 million people in West Africa. The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project was announced in 2016 in Abuja by King Mohammed VI and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.