Morocco and Nigeria expect to sign an intergovernmental agreement this year on the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, a $25 billion project that would carry Nigerian gas 6,900 kilometres across West Africa to Morocco and eventually Europe, ONHYM chief Amina Benkhadra told Reuters.
The accord would establish a high authority in Nigeria bringing together ministerial representatives from participating states, and a joint project company in Morocco, owned by ONHYM and Nigeria’s NNPC, to oversee financing and construction.
Benkhadra said feasibility studies and front-end engineering design were complete but final financing had not been secured. Capacity would reach up to 30 billion cubic metres annually, including 15 bcm for Morocco.
In November 2024, ECOWAS energy ministers proposed organizing the signing of the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline intergovernmental agreement.
In December, ECOWAS heads of state endorsed the project’s unified name and the intergovernmental agreement and instructed the Commission to secure signature before June 2025.
Construction would proceed in phases, with initial segments expected to connect Morocco to gas fields in Mauritania and Senegal and link Ghana to Ivory Coast; a later phase would extend to Nigerian fields. First gas from early sections is expected in 2031.
Rabat is trying to dismantle dependence on coal and meet gas demand the government projects will reach 8 bcm by 2027, up from roughly 1 bcm now.
Algeria’s 2021 decision to halt flows through the Maghreb Europe pipeline stripped Morocco of its main gas supply and sharpened the search for alternatives.
Nigeria is one of the world’s top 10 in terms of gas resources, with over 600 trillion cubic feet. Abuja is betting on the joint gas pipeline project with Rabat in order to target the trans-Saharan and European markets.
Mauritania, Senegal, Ghana, and the Ivory Coast are also expected to be suppliers in the project.
