More African countries have committed to pursuing the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project with the signing of several agreements.
Four memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were inked Friday by the Nigerian National Petroleum Co. Ltd. (NNPC), Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, Benin’s National Hydrocarbons Co., Cote d’Ivoire’s National Company for Petroleum Operations, Guinea’s National Petroleum Co. and Liberia’s National Oil Co., state-owned NNPC said in a press release.
The pipeline would run from Nigeria to Morocco passing through Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania.
“These Memoranda of Understanding, similar to those signed with ECOWAS [Economic Community of West African States] 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 this strategic project”, NNPC said.
“Once completed, the project will enhance the monetization of the natural gas resources of the affected African countries and also offer a new alternative export route to Europe.”
The project was launched September 2022 with the signing of an MOU merging ECOWAS’ West Africa gas pipeline extension project and a pipeline planned between Nigeria and Morocco. “The similarities between the two projects soon became apparent, and so, the need for synergy to pool efforts in order to achieve a single gas pipeline project”, ECOWAS said in a separate statement on Friday’s signing.
“It is in this background that the 1st steering committee of the unique Gas pipeline Project was organized to take stock of the project current status, to discuss the general principles of the Treaty and Host country Agreement as well others keys subjects such as the environmental and survey studies to be undertaking”, it said.
“This significant infrastructure 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”, NNPC added. “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.”
NNPC chief executive Mele Kyari commented, “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.”
Fossil fuel is a key component of Nigeria’s economy. Oil and natural gas comprised 6.21 percent of the nation’s gross domestic product in the first quarter, making this sector the fourth-largest component of the economy behind crop production, trade, and telecommunication and information services, the National Bureau of Statistics reported May 24.
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