Member states of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have signed an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) backing the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic gas pipeline.
The heads of state of ECOWAS member states signed the IGA
for the African Atlantic gas pipeline (AAGP) project during the ECOWAS Summit
in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM),
Morocco’s hydrocarbons and mining agency, and the Nigerian National Petroleum
Company (NNPC) Limited, announced the agreement in a joint statement on Sunday.
The statement noted that the pipeline is designed to
transport up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year from
Nigeria and west Africa through 13 West African countries to
Morocco.
Of that capacity, ONHYM and NNPC said 15 bcm will be
delivered annually to Moroccan and European markets through an existing
pipeline that links Morocco to Spain.
“The AAGP is a transformative regional infrastructure
initiative designed to unlock West Africa’s vast natural gas resources, connect
them to major demand centres, integrate African energy markets, and establish a
strategic development corridor linking West Atrica, Sahel Countries, Morocco,
and Europe,” the agencies said.
“The signing gives practical effect to the approval granted
at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Summit in Abuja in December 2024.
“It concludes the institutional process coordinated by
ECOWAS following the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and
Morocco and reatfirms the participating States’ strong commitment to the
project.”
The statement noted that the milestone reached in Freetown
marks the beginning of the next implementation phase, “which will include the
establishment of the project company, to be headquartered in Casablanca, and
the pipeline higher authority (PHA), the governance body of the AAGP, to be
based in Abuja”.
“These institutional milestones will pave the way for
investor mobilisation and the preparation of the Final Investment Decision
(FID),” they said.
“The final milestone will be marked by a dedicated ceremony
to be held at a later date in the Kingdom of Morocco, during which the Kingdom
of Morocco and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania will jointly sign the
Agreement, in the presence of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
“Initiated under the shared vision of the late President
Muhammadu Buhari and His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the project continues to
enjoy the full support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
According to the statement, significant progress has already
been made, including completion of front-end engineering design (FEED) studies
and finalisation of route reconnaissance surveys.
ONHYM and NNPC added that environmental and social studies
have been advanced, and key legal, regulatory, and commercial frameworks, have
been established.
The statement noted that the milestones position the project
for the implementation phase.
ONHYM and NNPC said the AAGP will run from Nigeria to
Morocco through thirteen Atlantic coastal countries, with interconnections
serving landlocked Sahel nations.
Advertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com