A decade after Nigeria and Morocco unveiled plans for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), the ambitious $25 billion project has received fresh political backing with the signing of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) by ECOWAS Heads of State.
The agreement, signed during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone, provides the legal framework for participating countries to advance the cross-border gas pipeline project.
Despite the latest milestone, the project is yet to secure a Final Investment Decision (FID) or financing for construction.
The development comes as other major gas infrastructure projects in Nigeria, including the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) pipeline and the 130-kilometre Obiafu-Obrikom-Oben (OB3) Gas Pipeline, continue to face delays caused by funding constraints, insecurity and missed completion deadlines.
Originally announced in 2016, the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline has remained in the planning phase, with governments signing several memoranda of understanding, intergovernmental agreements and conducting technical studies over the past 10 years.
The proposed 6,900-kilometre pipeline will transport natural gas from Nigeria through 13 Atlantic coastal countries to Morocco, while also connecting landlocked Sahel nations and the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline. It is designed to deliver about 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually, with up to 15 billion cubic metres earmarked for Morocco and European markets.
According to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines, the agreement implements the approval granted by ECOWAS leaders in December 2024 and concludes the institutional process initiated after Nigeria and Morocco signed a Memorandum of Understanding in 2022.
Project promoters said the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED), route reconnaissance, environmental and social impact assessments, as well as legal and commercial frameworks, have been completed, positioning the project for implementation.
However, neither NNPC nor ECOWAS has announced when construction will begin, how the estimated $25 billion project will be financed or when a Final Investment Decision will be taken.
NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Bashir Bayo Ojulari, said the agreement provides the sovereign backing needed to move the project “from vision to delivery,” adding that it is expected to bring about three billion cubic feet of Nigerian gas per day to market.
Director General of ONHYM, Amina Benkhadra, described the signing as another major milestone towards the project’s realisation.
The latest development comes as Nigeria continues to grapple with domestic gas shortages affecting electricity generation and industrial supply, even as the proposed pipeline is expected to export a significant portion of its capacity to Morocco and European markets.
Following the agreement by ECOWAS member states, Morocco and Mauritania are expected to complete the remaining intergovernmental framework before establishing a Pipeline Higher Authority in Abuja and a project company in Casablanca ahead of the long-awaited Final Investment Decision.
