NNPC Calls on Investors to Take Advantage of Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline

Rabat – The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project is ripe with investment opportunities, Umar Ajiya, the Chief Financial Officer of NNPC Limited, said during an event in Abuja.

The CFO of Nigeria’s national oil company shed light on the project while listing to investors a number of high-potential projects like the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Gas Pipeline, according to a report from The Whistler.

Ajiya made the remark in an opening address at the 3rd International Conference on Hydrocarbon Science & Technology (ICHST) held on October 23-24.

First conceived in 2016, the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline garnered significant attention after the start of the Ukraine war, the tightening of global gas supplies, and increasingly tight sanctions on Russia.

The project was officially kickstarted through a joint initiative in 2017. The mega energy project consists of a 5,660-kilometer pipeline crossing 13 territorial waters.

In December 2021, Morocco and Nigeria signed an agreement to fund the FEED after the project was approved by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB).

In 2022, the project received substantial funding from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). The investment is currently funding the project’s feasibility study also known as Front-End Engineering Design (FEED).

While the pipeline could fulfill its purpose by delivering gas to Europe and Morocco, current plans will see it further its potential by crossing 11 African countries, fulfilling the energy needs of nearly 400 million people.

In Africa, the project promises to support the continent’s socio-economic development, experts argue. The pipeline represents a reliable source of employment and attracts investments to the region.

The pipeline aims to deliver gas from Nigeria to Europe and should supply countries along the way.

In February 2022, Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari held a phone call with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI. During the phone call, the Nigerian president expressed his country’s determination to bring the pipeline online as soon as possible.