Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline: More Countries Sign MoU With NNPCL

As part of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, Nigeria, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Benin and Guinea on Friday signed four significant Memoranda of Understanding (MoU) at the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) in Abuja.

The signings took place on the sidelines of the Steering Committee meeting of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project convened to discuss the progress of the Project and its strategic direction, attended by representatives from ECOWAS and all the participating countries.

The tripartite MOUs were respectively and successively signed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco on one hand, and the Société Nationale des Opérations Pétrolières of Cote d’Ivoire (PETROCI), the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), the Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures of Benin (SNH-Benin), and the Société Nationale des Pétroles of the Republic of Guinea (SONAP) on the other hand.

These Memoranda of Understanding which were similar to those signed with ECOWAS 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. 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.

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. 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.

The GCEO NNPC Ltd, Mr. Mele Kyari thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian Government for entrusting NNPC Ltd with this strategic project as the National Energy Company.

He said: “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.

Director General of ONHYM, Amina Benkhadra said that the gathering represents a progressive step in ensuring social and economic development through energy security and accessibility geared towards attaining total development of Africa by Africans.

In his remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitization, Mr Sédiko Douka said the gas pipeline project is significant as it will help strengthen the region’s electricity production/generation capacity, stimulate industrial and agricultural development, and contribute to the energy transition by using a source of energy that is cleaner than other fossil fuels.