FREETOWN (SIERRA LEONE) (ITALPRESS) – The Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), meeting in Freetown, Sierra Leone, welcomed the signing of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) governing the development of the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic African Gas Pipeline (AAGP), an energy infrastructure project spanning approximately 6,800 kilometers, intended to transport natural gas from Nigeria to Morocco, before connecting to the European gas grid.
This was reported by the Moroccan news agency MAP, which noted that the signing of the agreement marks the accession of ECOWAS member states to the strategic project, launched at the initiative of King Mohammed VI and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, with the renewed support of current Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. The project is being developed by Morocco’s National Hydrocarbons and Mines Office (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.).
The next steps include the establishment of the project company, which will be based in Casablanca, and the Pipeline Higher Authority, whose headquarters will be in Abuja. The process will be completed with the joint signature of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, non-ECOWAS members.
The Atlantic-African pipeline will cross 13 countries and, according to the MAP agency, the infrastructure will have a transport capacity of 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas per year, of which up to 15 billion cubic meters may be destined for Morocco and European markets, while the remaining volume will supply regional markets in West Africa.
The investment is estimated at approximately $25 billion, with the first sections expected to enter into operation at the beginning of the next decade.
-Photo IPA Agency-
(ITALPRESS).
