FREETOWN, July 20 - West African leaders have approved an agreement to move forward with the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP), a major cross-border energy project that will transport Nigerian natural gas along Africa's Atlantic coast to Morocco before linking with the Maghreb-Europe pipeline.
The agreement was endorsed on Sunday during the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Speaking after the signing, ECOWAS Chairman and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio confirmed the milestone, saying, "We have already signed the West Africa-Morocco gas pipeline." He added, "Don't be surprised when the gas comes your way."
According to a joint statement issued by Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), the approximately 6,000-kilometre pipeline will pass through 13 West African countries, connecting Nigeria's vast gas reserves to Morocco before extending into the existing Maghreb-Europe pipeline.
The two state-owned energy firms said the project is designed to connect West Africa's gas resources with key regional markets. It also aims to "strengthen the integration of African energy markets and create a new development corridor linking" West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.
The statement said the next phase will involve establishing a project company in Casablanca and creating a governing authority headquartered in Abuja. Those structures are expected to oversee the project's development before investors are invited and a final investment decision is made.
An ONHYM source said construction is scheduled to begin in 2028, with the first deliveries of gas expected by 2031. The pipeline, first proposed during Moroccan King Mohammed VI's visit to Abuja in 2016, is estimated to cost about $27 billion.
The project has gained renewed momentum following Algeria's decision in 2022 to halt gas exports to Spain through Morocco after diplomatic relations between the two North African neighbours deteriorated, increasing interest in alternative gas export routes.
