TIMES REPORT
FREETOWN: Member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have formally endorsed the Nigeria-Morocco African Atlantic Gas Pipeline by signing an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The nearly 6,800-kilometre pipeline will transport natural gas from Nigeria to Morocco before connecting to the European gas network. The project was initiated by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, with continued support from Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The agreement clears the way for the establishment of a Project Company in Casablanca and a Pipeline Higher Authority in Abuja, ahead of investor mobilization and the Final Investment Decision (FID). Morocco and Mauritania are expected to sign a separate agreement in a future ceremony in Morocco.
The pipeline will pass through 13 countries along Africa’s Atlantic coast and connect with the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline. With an estimated cost of $25 billion, it will have an annual transport capacity of 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas, supplying regional markets while exporting up to 15 billion cubic metres to Morocco and Europe.
Developed jointly by Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd), the project aims to boost regional energy security, electricity generation, industrialization, and economic integration across West Africa. Engineering, environmental, and technical studies have been completed, with the first pipeline sections expected to become operational at the beginning of the next decade.
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