Morocco’s hydrocarbons and mining agency (ONHYM) says participating countries will sign an intergovernmental agreement this year for the planned $25 billion Nigeria–Morocco gas pipeline.
The project, agreed about a decade ago and known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, will stretch about 6,900 km across offshore and onshore routes. It is designed to carry up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas, with around 15 bcm going to Morocco and the rest supporting exports to Europe.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) backs the pipeline, and the project has already completed its feasibility study and front-end engineering design stages.
After signing the agreement, Nigeria will set up a high-level authority made up of ministerial representatives from the 13 participating countries to coordinate political and regulatory issues.
ONHYM and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) will also form a joint venture in Morocco to handle execution, financing, and construction.
The pipeline is expected to support economic integration in West Africa by improving power supply and encouraging industrial and mining activity. It will also help Morocco position itself as a link between African gas and European markets.
The first phases will connect Morocco to gas fields in Mauritania and Senegal, and link Ghana with Côte d’Ivoire. A later phase will connect Ghana to Nigeria’s gas fields.
The project expects to deliver first gas from the early phases by 2031.
The developers will not wait for a single final investment decision. Instead, they plan to build each section as a standalone project so they can start delivering value earlier.
The project has not secured final funding yet. The project company will arrange financing using a mix of equity and debt.
source: www.reuters.com
African Energy Council