Nigeria, Morocco, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Benin, Guinea sign MoUs on Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline

UGO AMADI

Today, another important milestone was achieved at the headquarters of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as four significant Memoranda of Understanding related to the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project were signed.

Additionally, the project’s Steering Committee convened to discuss the progress of the Project and its strategic direction.

Four Memoranda of Understanding were signed on Friday, June 16, in Abuja as part of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project.

These tripartite MOUs were respectively and successively signed between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco on the one hand, and the Société Nationale des Opérations Pétrolières of Cote d’Ivoire (PETROCI), the National Oil Company of Liberia (NOCAL), the Société Nationale des Hydrocarbures of Benin (SNH-Benin), and the Société Nationale des Pétroles of the Republic of Guinea (SONAP) on the other hand.

These Memoranda of Understanding, similar to those signed with ECOWAS on September 15, 2022, Mauritania and Senegal on October 15, 2022, and The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Sierra Leone, and Ghana on December 5, 2022, reaffirm the commitment of the Parties to this strategic project.

Once completed, the project will enhance the monetization of the natural gas resources of the affected African countries and also offer a new alternative export route to Europe.

The signings took place on the sidelines of the Steering Committee meeting of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, which was attended by representatives from ECOWAS and all the participating countries, including Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.

This significant infrastructure project will contribute to accelerating access to energy for all, improving the living conditions of the populations, integrating the economies of the sub-region, and mitigating desertification.

It will achieve these goals by providing a sustainable and reliable gas supply that aligns with the continent’s new environmental commitments while providing Africa with a new economic, political, and strategic dimension.

In his remarks,  GCEO NNPC Ltd, Mr Mele Kyari thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the Nigerian Government for entrusting NNPC Ltd with this strategic project as the National Energy Company. 

Also speaking, the Director General of ONHYM, Amina Benkhadra said that the gathering represents a progressive step in ensuring social and economic development through energy security and accessibility geared towards attaining total development of Africa by Africans.

In his remarks, the ECOWAS Commissioner for Infrastructure, Energy and Digitization, Mr Sédiko Douka said the gas pipeline project is significant as it will help strengthen the region’s electricity production/generation capacity, stimulate industrial and agricultural development, and contribute to the energy transition by using a source of energy that is cleaner than other fossil fuels.