ECOWAS  sign landmark agreement for African Atlantic gas pipeline

By the Editor

African Atlantic Gas Pipeline AAGP project has taken a major step towards realisation after Heads of State of ECOWAS Member States signed the Intergovernmental Agreement IGA for the project at the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone, at the weekend.

The AAGP is envisioned as a transformative regional infrastructure project designed to unlock West Africa’s vast natural gas resources, link them to major demand centres, integrate African energy markets, and establish a strategic development corridor connecting West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco, and Europe. Designed to deliver 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually, the project has sovereign backing from Nigeria, Morocco, ECOWAS member countries and Mauritania, and stretches nearly 6,900 kilometres along the West African Atlantic coast. It is jointly led by NNPC Ltd and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines ONHYM, and is intended to strengthen energy access, drive industrialisation, and deepen regional integration across the continent.

The signing gives practical effect to the approval granted at the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Summit in Abuja in December 2024, and concludes the institutional process coordinated by ECOWAS following the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and Morocco, reaffirming participating states’ commitment to the project. A subsequent ceremony will complete the intergovernmental framework with signatures from the Kingdom of Morocco and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

The project was initiated under the shared vision of the late President Muhammadu Buhari and King Mohammed VI of Morocco, and continues to enjoy the full backing of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is being jointly promoted by NNPC Ltd and ONHYM, with strong support from ECOWAS, participating countries, and international partners.

Significant progress has already been made on the project, including the completion of Front-End Engineering Design FEED, studies, finalisation of route reconnaissance surveys, advancement of environmental and social studies, and the establishment of key legal, regulatory, and commercial frameworks, milestones officials say position the project for implementation.

The AAGP will run from Nigeria to Morocco through thirteen Atlantic coastal countries, with interconnections serving landlocked Sahel nations. Linked to the Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline, it will create a new energy corridor with an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic metres, including up to 15 billion cubic metres for supply to Morocco and European markets. The pipeline is expected to enhance regional gas supply, support electricity generation, drive industrialisation, enable value addition to natural resources, and foster new industrial value chains and sustainable employment across West Africa.

Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, said the signing by West African Heads of State gives the AAGP the sovereign foundation required to move from vision to delivery. He said the milestone reflects the clear mandate of President Tinubu, adding that the pipeline is central to delivering on that mandate by providing the infrastructure needed to bring about 3 billion cubic feet per day of Nigerian gas to market. He expressed NNPC Limited’s pride in co-leading the project with ONHYM.

Director General of ONHYM, Mrs. Amina Benkhadra, described the event as another major milestone in the realisation of the AAGP, a strategic project jointly developed by ONHYM and NNPC Ltd under the leadership of King Mohammed VI and President Tinubu. She said the project fully reflects the Moroccan monarch’s vision for an integrated Atlantic Africa.

Following the forthcoming signatures by Morocco and Mauritania, the project will establish the Pipeline Higher Authority PHA in Abuja and the AAGP Project Company in Casablanca to oversee implementation and prepare for a Final Investment Decision FID. NNPC Ltd and ONHYM have reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the AAGP in line with international standards of technical excellence, environmental responsibility, and good governance.