The gas crisis in Europe has worsened as a result of Russia’s war on Ukraine, turning the attention to the project to transport Nigeria's gas to Europe via Morocco.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari agreed to the gas pipeline project in December 2016 and launched feasibility studies and steps to implement it.
On Thursday, a memorandum of understanding on the gas pipeline project linking Nigeria to Morocco, which will also supply West Africa and Europe, was signed in Rabat.
The MoU on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project (NMGP) was initialed by the leaders of the National Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), the Moroccan Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and a senior official of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in charge of energy, according to a joint statement.
Director General of ONHYM Amina Benkhadra said after signing the MoU that this step confirms the support of the 14 African countries to the project.
She added that ECOWAS has contributed to monitoring studies on the project, but by signing the agreement, it affirms it will contribute to all its implementation stages.
The project will benefit all the 13 African countries the pipeline will pass through, in addition to being a major source of energy for Europe.
According to Benkhadra, it would improve Africa’s position and contribute to linking it with the European continent.
It will also contribute to the development of the region, which will have access to electricity and sustainable energy, help develop the economy, and assist all countries through which the gas pipeline will pass in developing their mineral and industrial qualifications.
The strategic Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project will traverse the West African coast from Nigeria to Morocco, through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania. In the long term, it will be connected to the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline and to the European gas network. It will also help cater to the land-locked countries of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger.
