Morocco, Nigeria to Sign Intergovernmental Deal on $25 Billion Gas Pipeline
Rabat – President of Morocco’s Hydrocarbons and Mining Agency (ONHYM), Amina Benkhadra, announced that Nigeria and Morocco will sign an intergovernmental agreement on the $25 billion planned gas pipeline this year.
Benkhadra told Reuters that the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, also known as the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline, will supply Morocco and also support gas exports to Europe.
Benkhadra announced that a high committee will be created in Nigeria, following the signing of the intergovernmental agreement. The high authority will convene ministerial representatives from all 13 participating countries to “provide political and regulatory coordination.”
Benkhadra also emphasized that Morocco and Nigeria will establish a project company as a joint venture between ONHYM and Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) to supervise the financing and construction phase, as well as the implementation of the project.
ONHYM’s president pointed to the importance of the project to promote economic integration across West Africa, as well as contributing to Morocco’s energy sovereignty.
The project also aims to position Morocco as an energy bridge between Africa and Europe.
The initial phases of the pipeline project will see Morocco connected to gas fields in Mauritania and Senegal, linking Ghana to Cote d’Ivoire, “before a final segment connects Ghana to Nigeria’s gas fields.”
Benkhadra explained that funding commitments have not been secured yet, stressing that the project company will lead the financing structure. The company is set to mobilize a mix of equity and debt for the project, Benkdhara said. She, however, acknowledged that the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline is attracting strong interest due to its strategic positioning.
In 2022, King Mohammed VI described the gas pipeline project as more than just a “bilateral project between two sister nations.”
“This is a project for African economic integration and for co-development: a project for the present and for the future generations,” the King said.
The 6,900 projects will span over 13 countries along the Atlantic coast, with the ambition of benefiting over 340 million inhabitants.
Morocco will be home to more than 1,600 kilometers of the project, connecting Nigerian gas to Europe through Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Benin.
The project is now even more critical in a regional context marked by the ongoing war in the Middle East that affects the global energy market.
Amid the Middle East war and local economic challenges, Moroccans have endured socio-economic challenges due to high living costs, which also affect the energy sector.
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