By John Ikani
Morocco is on the verge of creating a company to manage a natural gas supply project from Nigeria through a pipeline running across many African countries to Morocco.
According to a Morrocan daily – Hespress, the Moroccan Energy Ministry has approved the creation of the company, which will also be in charge of developing domestic gas networks and infrastructure in the North African Arab country.
“Arrangements are underway to set up a company for gas network development in Morocco and supervise the project to build a gas line from Nigeria, which is considered Africa’s largest gas infrastructure project,” the Hespress reported, attributing it to Morocco’s Economy and Finance Ministry’s report.
What you should know
If completed, the new project will position Nigeria as a leading Africa’s Energy hub, supplying many energy thirsty countries around and abroad. The new Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline is a regional offshore and onshore project anticipated to deliver natural gas to Morocco and other west and north African countries in the coming years.
Although the new project is massive, it’s not the first gas pipeline project ever undertaken between Nigeria and other African countries. Instead, it will be an extension of the already existing pipeline network from Nigeria to Ghana, Benin, and Togo.
The 5,660 kilometres gas pipeline from Nigeria will stretch through 13 countries, starting with Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania, ending at Tangiers, a famous Moroccan port located on the Strait of Gibraltar.
The project could also lead to a possible future extension of the gas pipeline through Spain to the energy thirsty Europe. The gas pipeline project could cost approximately $25bn, with the entire project spread in phases over a 25-year time frame, officials privy to the project said in 2020.
