Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Benin and Guinea have joined other countries in Abuja Nigeria’s capital, in signing agreements on the Nigeria- Morrocco gas Pipeline project.
The tripartite MOUs were signed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco on one hand, and the Société Nationale des Opérations Pétrolières of Cote d’Ivoire (PETROCI), the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), the Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures of Benin (SNH-Benin), and the Société Nationale des Pétroles of the Republic of Guinea (SONAP) on the other hand.
These Memoranda of Understanding, similar to those signed with ECOWAS on September 15, 2022, Mauritania and Senegal on October 15, 2022, and The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Ghana on December 5, 2022, reaffirm the commitment of the Parties to the strategic project.
The Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC limited, Melle Kyari while spreaking during the ceremony at the ECOWAS headquarters in Abuja, Nigeria, said; “Once completed, the project will enhance the monetisation of the natural gas resources of the affected African countries and offer a new alternative export route to Europe, he revealed.
The signings took place on the sidelines of the Steering Committee meeting of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, which was attended by representatives from ECOWAS and all the participating countries, including Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.
Kyari added that “the project will contribute to accelerating access to energy for all, improving the living conditions of the populations, integrating the economies of the sub-region, and mitigating desertification’’.
He explained that: “It will achieve these goals through the provision of sustainable and reliable gas supply that aligns with the continent’s new environmental commitments, while providing Africa with a new economic, political, and strategic dimension.”
The GCEO NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari expressed his appreciation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian Government for entrusting NNPC Ltd with this strategic project as the National Energy Company.
He said that “as a commercial enterprise, NNPC Ltd sees this project as an opportunity to monetize Nigeria’s abundant hydrocarbon resources, by expanding Access to energy to support economic growth, industrialization, and job creation across the African continent and beyond”, he said.
Also speaking, the Director General of ONHYM, Amina Benkhadra said that “the gathering represents a progressive step in ensuring social and economic development through energy security and accessibility geared towards attaining total development of Africa by Africans,” she revealed.
The ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitisation, Mr Sédiko Douka said “the gas pipeline project is significant as it will help strengthen the region’s electricity production/generation capacity, stimulate industrial and agricultural development, and contribute to the energy transition by using a source of energy that is cleaner than other fossil fuels”, Douka said.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was proposed in a December 2016 agreement between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines) (ONHYM).
The pipeline would connect Nigerian gas to every coastal country in West Africa (Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania), ending at Tangiers, Morocco, and Cádiz, Spain.
Also, it would be an extension of the existing West African Gas Pipeline, which already connects Nigeria with Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
In August 2017, NNPC and ONHYM began a feasibility study for the pipeline, estimated to cost US$25 billion, and is expected to be completed in stages over 25 years.
