Nigeria and Morocco are planning to build the world's longest submarine gas pipeline ( Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline, NMGP) with the length of 5,660 km. This was announced by Tolu Ogunlesi, media adviser to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
"Nigeria and Morocco are teaming up to build the longest submarine pipeline in the world and the second longest pipeline in the world. It will transport gas from Nigeria to Morocco and Europe through 11 West African countries," the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) news agency quoted the adviser as saying on Tuesday.
He also recalled that the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and the National Hydrocarbons and Mines Authority (ONHYM) of Morocco signed a partnership agreement in June 2018.
Seeking funding
Nigeria's Minister of State for Petroleum, Timipre Silva, explained Monday that the NMGP project would be an extension of the West African Gas Pipeline, which already carries gas from Nigeria to Ghana (across the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean), according to MAP. "We want to continue this pipeline all the way to Morocco along the coast. We are currently in the research phase, and of course we are at the stage of securing funding for this project, and many parties are showing interest," he said.
According to Silva, OPEC and Russia are among those willing to invest in the Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline project. "The Russians are very willing to invest in this project, and there are many other parties who are also willing to invest in this project. Because this is a pipeline that will transport our gas through many countries in Africa to the borders of the African continent, where we can access the European market. OPEC has also expressed interest," he added.
Silva noted, however, that no agreement has yet been reached on financial issues. "A lot of people are showing their interest. There is a lot of international interest, investor interest in the project, but we haven't really identified the investors we want to work with yet," MAP quoted the Nigerian minister as saying.
Second phase of research
Last week it became known that the Moroccan authorities and the OPEC Fund for International Development signed a document concerning the funding of $14.3 million for the second phase of studies in the preliminary project of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline.
The studies, which are also funded by the Islamic Development Bank, involve the preparation of documentation for the implementation of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project and the completion of the related technical, financial and legal analysis, the Kingdom's Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administrative Reform said.
As MAP points out, the strategic pipeline project was initiated in 2016 by King Mohammed VI of Morocco and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria. According to the parties, the project will "increase the region's competitiveness, enhance its socio-economic development, in particular by accelerating electrification and developing the region's energy independence, as well as improving the living conditions of the local population."
As expected, the gas pipeline main will be laid along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean along the West African coast. The project could also be used in the future to ensure the export of natural gas to the EU through the Moroccan territory.
GSV "Russia - Islamic world"
Photo: Creative Commons
Based on materials from TASS