Ryad Mezzour, Morocco's minister of trade, says the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project (NMGP) will support the development of the economies of both Europe and Africa.
Mezzour spoke recently during a panel session at the
inaugural edition of the Eli Morocco Forum in Tangier, as part of the 14th
International Equestrian Festival MATA.
The minister said the NMGP project serves as a proof of
concept for Africa’s integration and requires sacrifice and vision.
He disclosed that the project is also part of the Moroccan
government’s ongoing infrastructure installations linked to the African free
trade agreement.
Mezzour said countries need more gas, noting that
governments need to work “hand-in-hand” with investors with a common approach
in creating value.
“When you have… three producers of gas and 11 consumers, the
producer needs a lot of money to export their gas, so the government will help
them to maximise revenues on this commodity, we need more energy, the consumers
of other countries need more energy, and we need a lot more,” he said.
“The project (NMGP) gives capital exposures, gives a market,
gives access to energy to consumer countries to electrify household and brings
energy to the industry.”
The Moroccan government official expressed optimism that the
gas pipeline would contribute to increasing food security and the development
fertilisers based on gas and phosphate “in all areas”.
“It’s a complete project, not only a gas transfer project
between Nigeria and Europe,” the minister said.
“The gas transfer, by the transporting, is supporting the
business model, access to electricity, access to development, access to food,
and global development contribution is to progress.”
Nigeria and Morocco are expected to hold engagements that
will advance the progress of the pipeline soon.
Specifically, Amina Benkhadra, the head of Morocco’s
national office of hydrocarbons and mines (ONHYM), had said an
intergovernmental agreement (IGA) on the planned $25 billion pipeline will be
signed this year.
Benkhadra said after the intergovernmental agreement, an
authority for the pipeline will be established in Nigeria, adding that the
ONHYM and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) will create a project
company as a joint venture in Morocco to lead the execution, financing, and
construction phase.
The NMGP, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline
(AAGP), is a 6,900-kilometre (km) hybrid offshore-onshore route with a maximum
capacity of 30 billion cubic metres (bcm), including 15 bcm, which supplies
Morocco and supports exports to Europe.
The pipeline is said to have the backing of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and feasibility study and front-end
engineering design (FEED) stages have been completed.
According to reports, the first gas from the initial phases
is expected in 2031.
In October 2022, the NNPC, Morocco, Senegal, and Mauritania signed the project’s memoranda of understanding (MoU)
Also, on March 21, the federal government said it has
advanced discussions with stakeholders on the proposed $20 billion Trans-Sahara
gas pipeline (TSGP) aimed at delivering natural gas to European markets.
The TSGP is a proposed 4,128 km pipeline intended to
transport up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually from Nigeria,
through Niger and Algeria, to European markets.
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