THE Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) today sealed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on a gas pipeline project with the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco and the ECOWAS Commission.
The MoU is expected to drive the execution of the 7,000-kilometre Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
In preparation for the signing of the agreement scheduled to hold in Rabat, Morocco, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, paid a courtesy visit on the president of the ECOWAS Commission, Omar Alieu Touray.
READ ALSO:
AKK Pipeline Project: NNPC targets first gas delivery in Q1 2023
Infrastructure deficit, vandalism hampering FG’s hope of benefiting from Europe’s gas crisis
Nigeria’s crude oil stolen, sabotaged in five years will construct 138 PHCs for each 774 LGAs
Rising clean energy demand offers Nigeria opportunity to exploit gas resources – Buhari
During the meeting, NNPC and the ECOWAS Commission reaffirmed their commitment to the project to provide gas to 13 West African countries through the kingdom of Morocco and, subsequently, to Europe.
A statement by NNPC Ltd said once completed, the project would supply about three billion standard cubit feet of gas along the coast of West Africa from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’ Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco.
Other benefits include improvement of living standards of the people, integration of the economies within the sub-region, and mitigating against desertification through sustainable and reliable gas supply.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project is an initiative of the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Morocco and was conceived during the visit of King Mohammed VI of Morocco to Nigeria in December 2016.
The NMGP Project is aimed at monetisation of Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources, thereby generating additional revenue for the country, diversification of Nigeria’s gas export routes, and elimination of gas flaring.
The project is also expected to provide an avenue for other countries along the pipeline route to develop and export their gas.
The pipeline is a 48-inch by 5,300km (offshore from Brass Island (Nigeria) to Dakhla (Morocco), and 56-inch by 1,700km (onshore from Dakhla-Morocco to Maghreb European Pipeline, MEP), with a total length of about over 7,000km and about 13 compressor stations.
The pipeline will originate from Brass Island (Nigeria) and terminate at North of Morocco, where it will be connected to the existing MEP that originates from Algeria (via Morocco) to Spain.
Harrison Edeh is a journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting, always determined to drive advocacy for good governance through holding public officials and businesses accountable.
My concern is how can Nigeria be able to fund this giantgertic project with this current regime of risen debt?