The Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline is taking its first steps

Morocco has begun the preliminary phase of an ambitious gas pipeline project with Nigeria that is expected to be 5,600 kilometres long. The initial plan is based on connecting the port of Nador, in the north of the country, with the port of Dakhla, in the south. 

The aim is to facilitate the transport of all the necessary logistical materials when the final work begins, once the technical and environmental studies have been completed. 

Leila Benali, Morocco's Minister for Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, said that approximately 6 billion dollars will be invested in this phase of the connection between Nador and Dakhla by the end of July. The minister explained that the investment is part of an energy transition plan that will cost at least 40 billion dollars over the next five years. 

Benali added, during a meeting of the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in Austria, that this is a fundamental step towards a continental connection that will extend to Mauritania and Senegal, passing through the territory of more than 10 countries. 

The project envisages that the gas pipeline will start in Nigeria and run through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania and end in Morocco. 

The OPEC meeting was attended by steering and technical committees, CEOs of national oil companies, representatives of the Economic Community of West African States, the Ministry of Energy Transition, the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE) and the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) on 10 and 11 July. 

According to Benali, the goal is to transport approximately 85 million cubic metres of gas per day from West Africa to Europe via the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline. Landlocked countries such as Mali and Burkina Faso will also benefit, thereby strengthening regional energy security. 

To this end, a memorandum of understanding was signed in Rabat between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Togo Gas Company (SOTOGAZ). 

Benali also revealed that non-sovereign investment companies and infrastructure funds have shown interest in investing in the gas pipeline. 

According to ONHYM director Amina Benkhadra, a final signature by the leaders of the countries through which the gas pipeline will pass is still required for the project to enter a decisive final phase this year. However, the technical and institutional aspects of the project have already been finalised.

Last year's design studies and environmental and social impact assessments of the pipeline, which have already been completed in the northern region, have now begun in the southern region, which stretches from Nigeria to Senegal. 

Economist Zakaria Firano believes that this meeting in Rabat merely reaffirms the participating countries' commitment to the project. And contemporary international affairs expert Mohamed Bouden explained to the press that the project is at an advanced stage. Its importance lies in the economic, political and developmental boost it will give to the African continent, while consolidating Morocco's position as the leading African nation in terms of investment in Africa. 

This important project, the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline, is a sign of the African initiative to revolutionise access to energy, promote economic growth on the continent and consolidate Africa's role in the global energy landscape.