West African leaders sign pact for $25bn Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline

The ambitious African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) project has moved a significant step closer to realization following the signing of its Intergovernmental Agreement by Heads of State of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) at their summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone. This agreement provides crucial sovereign backing for the initiative.

The AAGP, jointly promoted by Nigeria's National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, is envisioned as a nearly 6,900-kilometer pipeline stretching along the West African Atlantic coast. It is designed to transport an estimated 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, connecting gas-producing nations with major demand centers and landlocked Sahelian countries.

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The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline Project has received a major boost towards its actualisation as the Heads of State of ECOWAS Member States have signed the Intergovernmental Agreement for the project at the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone, at the weekend.

This development, disclosed by NNPC's Chief Corporate Communications Officer Andy Odeh, aims to create a new energy corridor linking West Africa to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline. This route would facilitate the flow of African gas to Morocco and subsequently to European markets. NNPC estimates that up to 15 billion cubic meters of the pipeline's annual capacity could be allocated to Morocco and European markets, supporting electricity generation, energy access, and industrialization across the region.

The agreement signed by ECOWAS member states formalizes the approval granted at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Summit in Abuja in December 2024. It follows a Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria and Morocco in 2022. The project was initially conceived under the shared vision of the late Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Morocco's King Mohammed VI and continues to receive support from current President Bola Tinubu. The next steps involve signing the agreement by Morocco and Mauritania, with significant preparatory work, including engineering design studies and environmental surveys, already completed.

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The AAGP is a transformative regional infrastructure project designed to unlock West Africa’s vast natural gas resources, connect them to major demand centres, integrate African energy markets, and establish a strategic development corridor linking West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco, and Europe.