$25 Billion Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Nears Key Agreement

Nigeria and Morocco are targeting a 2026 intergovernmental agreement for the proposed $25 billion Atlantic gas pipeline linking West Africa to Europe.

(Reuters) — Nigeria and Morocco expect to sign an intergovernmental agreement in the fourth quarter of 2026 to advance a major Atlantic coast gas pipeline project, Nigeria's foreign ministry said.

The planned agreement, to be signed by Nigerian President Bola Tinubu and Morocco's King Mohammed VI, follows preliminary technical studies on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline.

The development was discussed during a telephone call on May 8 between Nigeria's Foreign Minister Bianca Odumegwu-Ojukwu and her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, the ministry said in a statement, seen by Reuters on May 12.

The head of Morocco's hydrocarbons and mining agency (ONHYM), Amina Benkhadra, told Reuters last month that an intergovernmental agreement on a planned $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline would be signed this year.

The project, agreed a decade ago, would run 6,900 km on a hybrid offshore-onshore route with a maximum capacity of 30 billion cubic meters (Bcm), including 15 Bcm to supply Morocco and support exports to ​Europe, ONHYM's Benkhadra said.

Beyond energy, the two sides explored opportunities for collaboration in fertilizer production and distribution, citing its importance to food security across Africa.

Both ministers stressed the need to re-establish the Nigeria-Morocco Business Council to promote trade and investment, particularly under the African Continental Free Trade Area framework and an existing double taxation treaty.