The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have signed agreements formalizing the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.
According to NNPCL, the agreement will be the driving force for constructing the 7,000 kilometer gas pipeline between Nigeria and Morocco.
In a December 2016 agreement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines proposed building a gas pipeline between the two countries (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines).
In June, the Federal Executive Council approved NNPC’s request to enter into a pipeline construction agreement with ECOWAS.
The government claims that the gas pipeline, which is planned to be 7,000 kilometers long, will lessen gas flaring in Nigeria, promote energy diversification, and alleviate poverty by providing more employment opportunities.
Gas usage for cooking will increase, and desertification will be slowed, as a result.
According to an official statement, NNPC Ltd Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari paid a courtesy visit to ECOWAS Commission President Dr. Omar Alieu Touray in advance of the agreement’s signing on September 15 in Rabat, Morocco.
A joint statement from NNPC and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission said that they had “reaffirmed their commitment” to a plan to pipe gas from the Kingdom of Morocco to West African countries and onward to Europe.
Two MOUs were also expected to be signed between NNPC and ONHYM and the Société Mauritienne des Hydrocarbures of Mauritania and Petrosen of Senegal of whom are expected to take part in the project.
“Once completed, the project would supply about three billion standard cubic feet of gas along the West African Coast from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco.
“Other benefits of the NMGP project include improving the living standards of people, integration of the economies within the sub-region and mitigating against desertification through sustainable & reliable gas supply,” it said.
