The feasibility study for the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline that will supply gas to at least 15 countries in West Africa has been completed. This was made known by the Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Maikanti Baru.
The joint Trans-Sahara pipeline project which will connect Nigeria, Morocco and other African countries to Europe, is expected to reduce gas flaring in Nigeria and encourage diversification of energy resources in the country.
The feasibility study was set in motion after an initial agreement was signed by representatives of both countries in 2016. Geoffrey Onyeama, Nigeria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs had announced the partnership with the Moroccan government at a press briefing in the West African country’s capital.
Originally, the pipeline was to be an offshore project, however, Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) later said it would be an onshore and offshore pipeline for economic, political, legal and security reasons.
According to Morocco’s monarch, King Mohammed VI, Morocco and Nigeria had developed a new regional gas pipeline connecting both countries, taking gas resources of Nigeria to Morocco, its neighbours and Europe.
The Trans-African Pipeline project will be supported through a new collaboration between Ithmar Capital, the Moroccan sovereign wealth fund, and the Nigeria Sovereign Investment Authority (NSIA).
Presently, the Pre-Front End Engineering Design optimisation study for the 5,660km Nigeria-Morocco pipeline is ongoing and the facility is expected to boost the region’s industries when completed. Nigeria’s Maikanti Baru stated. (The Nerve Africa)
