Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Ekperikpe Ekpo, announced that the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, which aims to connect the European market, will begin in 2024.

The National Oil Companies (NOCs) of Morocco (ONYHM), Nigeria (NNPC), and The Gambia National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in December 2022 for the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project.

The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, which is projected to cost $25 billion, will traverse the Atlantic coast of West Africa, including the Gambia. It is 5,600 kilometers long. The pipeline’s goal is to transport gas from Nigeria to Europe while sustaining the region’s auxiliary energy infrastructure, which includes gas for electrification and domestic and industrial gas use, and by fostering greater regional integration and cooperation. Upon completion, the pipeline is expected to have a capacity of about 3 billion cubic feet per day.

Additional advantages encompass generating wealth and raising citizens’ standards of living, fostering greater collaboration among nations while reducing desertification, and obtaining additional advantages from lowering carbon emissions.

The pipeline will transport gas through countries including Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.

The 25 billion dollars Trans-Atlantic project will enhance natural gas monetisation in affected African countries and provide a new alternative export route to Europe.

The project has advanced with the signing of four Memoranda of Understanding in June 2023.