Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline conducive to regional economic development- Nigerian official

The gas pipeline project to link Nigeria to Morocco will act as an incentive for further regional integration in West Africa, head of Nigeria’s National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), Mele Kyari said.

Morocco and Nigeria agreed to build the pipeline in late 2016 during a visit by King Mohammed VI to Abuja. Several meetings followed as the two countries mull feasibility of the project.

The pipeline “will not only offer an outlet for Nigerian gas but will also be conducive to economic development in the sub-region,” said Kyari following a meeting of the project’s steering committee in Abuja attended by a Moroccan delegation, led by head of Morocco’s hydrocarbon’s office (ONHYM) Amina Benkhadra.

The meeting that gathered the steering committee of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline and major international oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria was meant to present the progress of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project and to discuss, with the companies, preliminary conditions of supply for this strategic gas pipeline.

Following the meeting, the participating companies expressed their interest in this strategic project and their willingness to continue negotiations with the project team.

The pipeline will channel Nigerian gas up to Europe offering the old continent an alternative source of supply, said the Nigerian official.

Feasibility studies have so far highlighted the technical and economic viability of the pipeline project that could attract world gas giants.

The pipeline is part of a Moroccan investment push in Africa, which was intensified after the Kingdom regained its place in the African Union in 2017.