Keypoints:
- ECOWAS leaders sign pipeline agreement
- Project would cross 13 coastal countries
- Final investment decision remains outstanding
WEST African leaders have signed an agreement advancing the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, giving fresh political backing to a proposed energy corridor that would carry Nigerian gas through 13 Atlantic coastal countries before reaching Morocco and potentially connecting with European markets.
The agreement, endorsed at an ECOWAS summit in Freetown, is a significant institutional step but does not mean construction is ready to begin. Investors must still be secured, operating bodies established and a final investment decision taken before the $27bn project can move into implementation.
ECOWAS leaders give backing
The agreement was signed on Sunday during a summit of the Economic Community of West African States in Sierra Leone’s capital.
ECOWAS chair and Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio announced the decision, saying: ‘We have already signed the West Africa-Morocco gas pipeline. Don’t be surprised when the gas comes your way.’
The proposed pipeline would cover roughly 6,000 kilometres along Africa’s Atlantic coast, crossing 13 countries before entering Morocco.
It would then connect with the Maghreb-Europe pipeline, opening a possible route for Nigerian gas to reach markets farther north.
The endorsement completes another stage in a project first proposed during Moroccan King Mohammed VI’s visit to Abuja in 2016.
It follows months of preparations for ECOWAS approval as regional governments considered the agreements needed to move the plan forward.
Project targets regional gas markets
Morocco’s state hydrocarbons agency ONHYM and Nigeria’s state oil company NNPC said the project was intended to connect West Africa’s gas resources with major regional markets.
The two organisations said it could strengthen the integration of African energy markets and create a development corridor linking West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.
The latest agreement builds on Nigeria’s approval of the original proposal and Morocco’s diplomatic push for the pipeline.
The project is intended to strengthen African energy-market integration and create a development corridor connecting West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.
Financing decision still outstanding
Despite the political agreement, several important steps remain before construction can start.
ONHYM and NNPC said a project company would be created in Casablanca, while a governing authority would be established in Abuja.
Investors would then be brought on board and a final investment decision taken.
The pipeline is estimated to cost about $27bn, placing financing at the centre of the next phase. Investors have yet to be brought on board and a final investment decision remains outstanding.
An ONHYM source told AFP that construction was expected to begin in 2027, with the first gas deliveries targeted for 2031.
Those dates remain project targets and will depend on the institutional and investment steps being completed.
North African tensions add urgency
The pipeline has also gained strategic importance following the deterioration of relations between Algeria and Morocco.
Algeria stopped supplying gas to Spain through Morocco after diplomatic ties between Algiers and Rabat broke down, increasing Morocco’s interest in developing another long-term gas route.
The ECOWAS agreement now moves the Nigeria-Morocco proposal closer to its commercial phase.
However, the decisive test will be whether its sponsors can secure investors and approve the final investment decision needed to turn regional political support into construction.
