ECOWAS Signs Agreement Backing Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has signed an intergovernmental agreement backing the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Ltd said in a joint statement on Sunday.

The agreement was signed by the heads of state of participating ECOWAS member countries during the ECOWAS summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.

The statement said the pipeline is designed to transport up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas annually from Nigeria and other West African producers through 13 West African countries to Morocco.

It said 15 bcm of gas a year will be supplied to Moroccan and European markets through the existing pipeline linking Morocco and 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 Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe,” the agencies said.

The agreement gives effect to the approval granted at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja in December 2024, the statement said.

It also concludes the institutional process coordinated by ECOWAS following the 2022 memorandum of understanding between Nigeria and Morocco and reaffirms the participating states’ commitment to the project.

The statement said the agreement marks the start of the next implementation phase, which will include establishing the project company, to be headquartered in Casablanca, and the Pipeline Higher Authority (PHA), the project’s governing body, to be based in Abuja.

“These institutional milestones will pave the way for investor mobilisation and the preparation of the Final Investment Decision (FID),” ONHYM and NNPC said.

The final step will be a signing ceremony in Morocco, where Morocco and Mauritania will jointly sign the agreement in the presence of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the statement said.

The project was initiated under former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and continues to have the support of President Tinubu, it added.

According to the statement, front-end engineering design (FEED) studies have been completed, route reconnaissance surveys finalised, and environmental and social impact studies advanced. The agencies also said key legal, regulatory and commercial frameworks have been put in place.

The Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline will run from Nigeria to Morocco through 13 Atlantic coastal countries, with interconnections to supply landlocked Sahel states.