Nigeria's plan to expand gas exports and strengthen regional energy cooperation has received a significant boost following the signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) by leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
The agreement was signed during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone, providing the legal and sovereign framework required to move the multi-billion-dollar project from the planning stage to implementation.
The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline is a joint initiative of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).
The proposed 6,900-kilometre pipeline will transport about 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from Nigeria through 13 West African coastal countries to Morocco, with onward export to Europe through the existing Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline.
According to NNPC Ltd., the project is expected to improve regional energy security, stimulate industrialisation, expand electricity generation, create employment opportunities and establish a strategic energy corridor linking West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.
The latest agreement implements resolutions adopted at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government held in Abuja in December 2024 and concludes the regional institutional process initiated by the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria and Morocco in 2022.
Speaking on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the signing as a major milestone towards the realisation of the project.
He said the pipeline aligns with President Bola Tinubu's agenda of expanding Nigeria's gas market and monetising the country's abundant natural gas resources.
Ojulari noted that the project would provide the infrastructure required to bring about three billion cubic feet of Nigerian gas per day to market, adding that NNPC Ltd. remains committed to delivering the project in partnership with ONHYM.
Also commenting, the Director-General of ONHYM, Mrs Amina Benkhadra, described the agreement as another important achievement in the development of the transcontinental gas pipeline.
She said the project reflects the vision of King Mohammed VI for greater economic integration and sustainable development across Atlantic Africa.
The project promoters disclosed that critical preparatory activities have already been completed, including Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies, route reconnaissance surveys, environmental and social impact assessments, as well as the development of legal, regulatory and commercial frameworks.
When completed, the pipeline is expected to deliver up to 15 billion cubic metres of gas annually to Morocco and European markets while expanding gas utilisation across West Africa to support industrial development, value addition and job creation.
NNPC Ltd. said Morocco and Mauritania are expected to sign the agreement in the next phase, after which a Pipeline Higher Authority will be established in Abuja and the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline Project Company incorporated in Casablanca to oversee implementation and prepare for the project's Final Investment Decision (FID).
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