Morocco and Nigeria have been planning a new gas pipeline project that could bring electricity to 400 million people in Africa. The project was presented by King Mohammed VI of Morocco at the African Investment Forum (AIF) in Marrakech on Nov. 8-10.
In his presentation the King noted that despite Africa’s potential in fossil fuels, the electrification rate remains very low. He then presented what he called a “transformative” project, the Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline project, which the King said, “will enhance regional economic integration” and “will enable all countries along the pipeline route to have access to reliable energy supplies.”
The Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline project was initiated by King Mohammed VI and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in an agreement signed in 2016 by the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines) (ONHYM). The 5,660 km pipeline would connect Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania, terminating at Tangiers, Morocco on one end and Cádiz, Spain on the other. The pipeline would actually begin in Ghana, where the existing West Africa Pipeline that connects Nigeria, Benin, Togo, and Ghana ends. All the African countries involved have already signed agreements to participate. Feasibility and engineering studies financed by the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) have been completed, or are in the process of being carried out. While no date has been set to commence construction, the project is high on Morocco’s agenda. The pipeline would facilitate transporting gas from this coastal pipeline into the landlocked Sahel countries, which have the lowest rates of electrification in Africa.
