BY: CHARLES CHIJIOKE
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has formally approved the long-awaited Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP), a landmark energy project valued at about $27 billion that is expected to reshape regional energy trade, strengthen economic integration, and expand Nigeria’s gas exports to Europe.
The approval was granted on Sunday during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone, where leaders of the regional bloc endorsed the nearly 6,000-kilometre pipeline that will stretch from Nigeria through 13 West African coastal countries before reaching Morocco and linking with the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline.
Afrilensnews reports that ECOWAS Chairman and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio announced the agreement during the summit, declaring: “We have already signed the West Africa-Morocco gas pipeline. 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 pipeline is designed to connect West Africa’s vast gas resources with key regional and international markets.
The two state-owned energy firms said the project will also “strengthen the integration of African energy markets and create a new development corridor linking” West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.
Officials disclosed that the next phase will involve establishing a project company in Casablanca, Morocco, alongside a governing authority headquartered in Abuja. The structures will oversee preparations before investors are invited and a Final Investment Decision (FID) is reached.
Construction of the pipeline is expected to begin in 2028, while the first gas deliveries are projected for 2031, according to a source from ONHYM.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was first proposed during King Mohammed VI’s state visit to Abuja in 2016. Interest in the project gained renewed momentum following Algeria’s 2022 decision to halt gas supplies to Spain through Morocco after diplomatic relations between the two North African neighbours deteriorated.
The approval marks one of the biggest energy infrastructure commitments in Africa and could significantly boost
regional industrialisation, create thousands of jobs, improve energy access across participating countries, deepen economic cooperation within ECOWAS, and strengthen Africa’s position in the global energy market while offering Europe an additional source of natural gas.
