The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has moved the $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline closer to reality after member states signed an intergovernmental agreement supporting the ambitious regional energy project.
The agreement was signed on Sunday in Freetown, Sierra Leone, according to a joint statement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), as reported by Reuters.
The signing marks a major milestone for one of Africa’s largest cross-border energy infrastructure projects, paving the way for the next phase of implementation and reinforcing efforts to boost regional energy security, industrial development and gas exports to Europe.
The proposed pipeline will transport up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas annually from Nigeria through 13 West African countries to Morocco.
Of that volume, 15 bcm per year will be delivered to Morocco and European markets via the existing gas pipeline linking Morocco to Spain.
Stretching approximately 6,900 kilometres, the pipeline will combine offshore and onshore routes, making it one of the world’s longest gas pipeline projects.
According to ONHYM and NNPC, both the feasibility study and Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) have been completed, clearing another major hurdle toward construction.
The companies added that the next key milestone will be the signing of an agreement between Morocco and Mauritania in the presence of Nigeria’s President.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was first conceived about a decade ago by the governments of Nigeria and Morocco as a strategic initiative to unlock Nigeria’s vast gas reserves while supplying cleaner energy to West Africa and Europe.
Beyond gas exports, the project is expected to improve electricity generation, support industrialisation, stimulate mining activities and deepen economic integration across participating countries.
Progress on the project has gathered pace in recent years. In June 2022, Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council approved NNPC to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ECOWAS to facilitate the pipeline’s development. Six months later, NNPC signed additional MoUs with five African countries to advance implementation.
In March 2024, then NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Mele Kyari disclosed that a Final Investment Decision (FID) was expected before the end of the year.
Despite the latest breakthrough, the project still faces significant challenges, including securing financing, coordinating multiple governments and executing one of the world’s most complex offshore pipeline systems.
However, analysts see the ECOWAS agreement as a critical step toward attracting investors and mobilising funding for construction.
The signing also aligns with earlier indications that Nigeria and Morocco would formalise the intergovernmental agreement in 2026, bringing the project significantly closer to execution.
Once completed, the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline is expected to transform the regional energy landscape by expanding access to natural gas, strengthening energy security across West Africa and positioning Nigeria as a major supplier of gas to European markets.
