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$25b Nigeria – Morocco gas project at land acquisition, resettlement - THE NATION
The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) had stated that the $25 million African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) or the Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline project is at the stage of land acquisition and resettlement.
Its Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Malam Mele Kyari, broke the news at the
Economic Community of West Africa State (ECOWAS) Inter-Ministerial Meeting of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) Project in Abuja.
He also said reasonable progress has been made in the project, which its
frontier engineering design phase two has now been completed.
NNPCL Executive Vice Chairman, Gas and Power, Mr. Olalekan Ogunleye, who represented him, said decisions at the meeting will shape the future of the project and ensure positive impact on the nations economies and people’s lives.
His words: “Today’s deliberations are critical. The decisions made here will shape the future of the African Atlantic Gas Project, ensuring a positive impact on the economies of our nations and the lives of our people.
” Noteworthy progress has been made with frontier engineering design phase two now completed, and work ongoing for surveys, environmental and social impacts assessments, and the land acquisition and resettlement policy framework is being progressed.”
He described the 6,800km network project, which passes through 13 countries and was formerly the West African Gas Pipeline Project as perhaps the largest in the continent.
The project, which is estimated to cost $25 billion was initiated by Morocco and Nigeria in 2016 to link Nigeria’s gas resources to Europe through Morocco.
Kyari insisted that NNPCL having executed the West African Gas Pipeline Project is well positioned to implement the project with its expertise in gas production, processing, and marketing.
“NNPCL is well positioned to progress this project by leveraging on its expertise across gas production, processing and marketing, and experience having executed similar projects like the West Africa Gas Pipeline,” he said.
He urged the stakeholders to jointly work to accomplish the shared vision that transcend has supply to enhancing economies standard of living to regional integration.
Declaring the meeting open, the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas) Hon. Ekperikpe Ekpo said the parley was convened with a focus on the strategic institutional documents, each pivotal to regional cooperation and the advancement of the hydrocarbon sector.
These include: the Draft Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and Host Government Agreement (HGA) for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP).
He said the AAGP is not just a pipeline project; it is a major step forward in the vision of an integrated hydrocarbon and energy infrastructure within Africa.
According to him, the merger of the West Africa Gas Pipeline Extension Project (WAGPEP) and the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project (NMGP) into the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline Project (AAGP), following the decision at the 63rd Ordinary Session of the Authority of the ECOWAS Heads of State and Government of 9th July 2023, reflects the region’s strategic vision for a more connected and economically vibrant pipeline network.
Ekpo said the Intergovernmental Agreement will serve as the framework guiding relations between the states involved, ensuring cohesive collaboration and equitable terms, while the Host Government Agreement forms the foundation of a mutually beneficial partnership that promises stability and predictability in our investment climate.
These draft institutional agreements, he said, “should be an affirmation of our commitment to enhancing hydrocarbon and energy trade within ECOWAS and other African countries, facilitating access to natural gas across the region, and expanding our footprint in global gas markets.”
Speaking, the Moroccan Minister of Energy Infrastructure and Sustainable Development, Laila Benali described the Nigeria – Morocco Gas Pipeline Project as a “political project.”
She explained that both President Bola Tinubu and the King Assis Mohammed of Morocco, supported the idea.
She added that the global block of production capacity is Africa.
The Moroccan Minister further said, “So the world’s greatest block of production capacity for the world is Africa.
“So that is why this pipeline is very much a political pipeline, and that is also the reason why we at the Kingdom of Morocco really want to thank our partners, our friends in ECOWAS for sticking and the persistence and resistance in making sure that the work continues on this political vision and political project. For Africa and also for the rest of the world.”
