$25bn Nigeria-Morocco Gas Project Advances As NNPC, 4 Countries Sign Pacts

Preparations towards the construction of the over 5,000 kilometres Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project has received a major boost with four more countries signing up to be part of it.

The project, estimated to cost about $25 billion to construct, was last merged with the West African Gas pipeline thus bringing together 13 countries on board.

The new countries which signed memoranda of understanding at the ECOWAS Secretariat on Friday are Republic of Benin, Guinea, Liberia and Ivory Coast.

These tripartite MOUs were respectively and successively endorsed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco on one hand, and the Société Nationale des Opérations Pétrolières of Cote d’Ivoire (PETROCI), the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), the Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures of Benin (SNH-Benin), and the Société Nationale des Pétroles of the Republic of Guinea (SONAP) on the other hand.

These Memoranda of Understanding, similar to those signed with ECOWAS on September 15, 2022, Mauritania and Senegal on October 15, 2022, and The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Ghana on December 5, 2022, reaffirm the commitment of the Parties to this strategic project. Once completed, the project will enhance the monetization of the natural gas resources of the affected African countries   and also offer a new alternative export route to Europe.

The signings took place on the sidelines of the Steering Committee meeting of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, which was attended by representatives from ECOWAS and all the participating countries, including Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.

This significant infrastructure project will contribute to accelerating access to energy for all, improving the living conditions of the populations, integrating the economies of the sub-region, and mitigating desertification. It will achieve these goals through the provision of sustainable and reliable gas supply that aligns with the continent’s new environmental commitments, while providing Africa with a new economic, political, and strategic dimension.

In his remarks,  GCEO NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian Government for entrusting NNPC Ltd with this strategic project as the National Energy Company.

He added that “as a commercial enterprise, NNPC Ltd sees this project as an opportunity to monetize Nigeria’s abundant hydrocarbon resources, by expanding Access to energy to support economic growth, industrialization, and job creation across the African continent and beyond.

Also speaking, the director general of ONHYM, Amina Benkhadra said that the gathering represents a progressive step in ensuring social and economic development through energy security and accessibility geared towards attaining total development of Africa by Africans.

In his remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitization, Mr Sédiko Douka said the gas pipeline project is significant as it will help strengthen the region’s electricity production/generation capacity, stimulate industrial and agricultural development, and contribute to the energy transition by using a source of energy that is cleaner than other fossil fuels.

LEADERSHIP reports that the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was proposed in a December 2016 agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPC) and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines) (ONHYM).

The pipeline would connect Nigerian gas to every coastal country in West Africa (Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania), ending at Tangiers, Morocco, and Cádiz, Spain. It would apparently be an extension of the existing West African Gas Pipeline, which already connects Nigeria with Benin, Togo, and Ghana.

In August 2017, NNPCL and ONHYM began a feasibility study for the pipeline for the project estimated to cost US$25 billion, and would be completed in stages over 25 years.

Morocco is reportedly pushing Nigeria to pursue this pipeline rather than the Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline,  arguing that the latter would have to pass through a region with significant militant activity.