ABUJA – The ambitious Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project has reached a critical milestone with the establishment of a dedicated project company, advancing the $25 billion initiative that promises to transform energy access across West Africa and beyond.
According to Amina Benkhadra, Director-General of Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, the formation of the project company is currently underway, representing a crucial step in structuring the massive financing requirements and overseeing implementation of the nearly 6,000-kilometer pipeline.
Technical studies completed in 2025 have confirmed the pipeline’s route, with the infrastructure engineered to transport between 15 and 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually. The project will serve 13 West African coastal states, reaching approximately 400 million people across the region.
The pipeline’s design includes internal domestic connections that will link landlocked countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali to the main transmission line. The system will eventually connect to the existing Maghreb-Europe Pipeline, providing Nigerian gas with direct access to European markets.
Project governance will feature a layered structure, with a parent company overseeing regional entities responsible for managing specific pipeline segments. This framework has received approval from the Economic Community of West African States, providing the necessary regional backing for the initiative.
In July, Togo was officially incorporated as a public partner through an additional protocol signed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, ONHYM, and Togo’s gas company, expanding the project’s regional support base.
Energy Minister Leïla Benali revealed that the United Arab Emirates will join an existing pool of major financial institutions supporting the project, including the European Investment Bank, the Islamic Development Bank, and the OPEC Fund. The newly formed project company will be responsible for mobilizing these funds, with a final investment decision expected by the end of 2025.
Source: Punch Nigeria