₦airaland Forum

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According to a Reuters report on Monday, the agreement will formalise political and regulatory commitments for the pipeline, which is designed to transport natural gas from Nigeria across West Africa to Morocco and onward to Europe.

The 6,900-kilometre project, known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, is expected to strengthen regional energy integration and boost export capacity.

Director-General of the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, Amina Benkhadra, said the agreement would enhance institutional coordination among participating countries.

“An intergovernmental agreement… will be signed this year,” she said, adding that a joint regulatory authority would be established in Nigeria involving representatives from the 13 participating countries.

Project structure
The pipeline, first conceived about a decade ago, has progressed through feasibility studies and front-end engineering design, reflecting renewed momentum despite global financing challenges.

Mrs Benkhadra explained that the project would be executed in phases, allowing segments to become operational independently and deliver early economic benefits.

“The project does not rely on a single global final investment decision… each segment is designed to be developed as a standalone system,” she said.

The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of 30 billion cubic metres annually, with about half allocated for domestic use in Morocco and exports to Europe.

Implementation plan
A joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Morocco’s hydrocarbons agency will establish a project company to oversee execution, financing, and construction.

While investor interest remains strong, no final funding commitments have been secured, with financing expected to combine equity and debt.

Regional impact
The project, backed by the Economic Community of West African States, is expected to boost electricity generation, industrialization, and economic integration across West Africa.

Initial phases will link Morocco to gas fields in Mauritania and Senegal, while other segments will connect Ghana to Côte d’Ivoire and eventually to Nigeria’s gas reserves.

First gas from the project is projected by 2031.

Strategic significance
The pipeline is seen as a strategic alternative for global gas supply, particularly as Europe seeks to diversify energy sources amid shifting geopolitical dynamics.

For Nigeria, the initiative offers an opportunity to monetise its vast gas reserves, increase non-oil revenue, and strengthen its regional influence.

The planned agreement signals renewed political will to deliver one of Africa’s most ambitious energy infrastructure projects, with the potential to reshape regional energy trade, enhance energy security, and position West Africa as a key player in the global gas market.

AsomughaChuks02:
A very stupid and wasteful project being undertaken by the Nigerian government. The risks involved are not worth the billions of dollars sunk already for a pipeline that will never recover the costs in 100 years. Let Morocco send their ships to Bonny and buy gas.

Nastrademus:
This is a good development but the project should be handled by an independent foreign contractor, don't give the money to the government else they'll embezzle it

AsomughaChuks02:
A very stupid and wasteful project being undertaken by the Nigerian government. The risks involved are not worth the billions of dollars sunk already for a pipeline that will never recover the costs in 100 years. Let Morocco send their ships to Bonny and buy gas.

Kushites:
Why didn't they embezzle the money that built the village school that educated you?

opalu:
Pipe dream. Won't that pipeline pass through the territory of other nations? What is the guarantee or security of those portions?

Teymanhenry:
Oga we are all Nigerians and we know what our people will do. Independent companies is the way to go. If we want to do business like the Europeans, we gotta think like them. Bring in policies that will curtail any form of irregularities, theft or scams. By so doing we'll be sustainable.

whitebeard:
Misplaced Priorities: While the government touts exporting half the gas to Europe and Morocco, millions of Nigerians continue to suffer from an unreliable power grid and soaring domestic energy costs. The administration is essentially prioritizing foreign export contracts over solving the crippling domestic energy crisis right in their own backyard.

The government is committing Nigeria to a $25 billion mega-project without having actual investors locked down. The admission that "no final funding commitments have been secured" and that it will rely heavily on "debt" means the administration is preparing to plunge an already economically strained nation into even deeper borrowing.

The government is taking on billions in debt for "mega-projects" like the gas pipeline without having the final funding fully secured. Who eventually pays for that? The Nigerian taxpayer. Under the guise of "expanding the tax base," the newly formed super-agency—the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS)—has been unleashed to aggressively hunt down domestic revenue. They are essentially shaking down struggling citizens and local businesses to guarantee the sovereign debt being used to fund these massive, kickback-prone infrastructure contracts.

Deollaa:
Read More here: https://vop.ng/nigeria-morocco-advance-25bn-transcontinental-gas-pipeline-deal/

Topman7:
You haven't answered the question. ALL THE INFRASTRUCTURE YOU SEE AROUND YOU TODAY, FROM EXPRESSWAYS TO UNIVERSITIES TO AIRPORTS TO STADIUMS TO SHOPPING MALLS TO FLYOVERS, WAS IT NOT MONEY THEY USED TO BUILD THEM?

Why was the money not stolen?

Hussein035:
Your region just hate Nigeria irrespective of the progress and that's why you can never succeed in life until this your paranoid is treated in psychiatry

Is this all you have to counter his opinion? Paranoid is treated in psychiatry? You need to go back to school!

Anything reasonable you would like to add?

AsomughaChuks02:
A very stupid and wasteful project being undertaken by the Nigerian government. The risks involved are not worth the billions of dollars sunk already for a pipeline that will never recover the costs in 100 years. Let Morocco send their ships to Bonny and buy gas.

Deollaa:
Read More here: https://vop.ng/nigeria-morocco-advance-25bn-transcontinental-gas-pipeline-deal/

Kushites:
This pipeline project is a good move that will raise national revenue and budget and quite possibly double our annual budget from the current $40 billion to perhaps $70 or $80 billion.

BUT we need to ensure we also have sufficient gas for local industrial development, and not focus solely or even mostly on export.

Economic independence is vital. That gas must help to grow local industries that rely on LNG, of which there are many.