West African leaders sign deal for $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, targeting 2031 start

The agreement

Heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed an intergovernmental agreement on Sunday in Freetown, Sierra Leone, formally approving the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic gas pipeline. The signing took place during an ECOWAS summit, with current chair Julius Maada Bio, president of Sierra Leone, confirming the deal. Senegal's president Bassirou Diomaye Faye, the bloc's new chair, said all leaders had signed.

We have signed the agreement for the West Africa-Morocco gas pipeline. Do not be surprised when gas reaches your country.

Pipeline scale and route

The pipeline will run between 6,000 and 6,900 km along the Atlantic coast, crossing 13 West African countries from Nigeria to Morocco. A joint statement by Morocco's ONHYM and Nigeria's NNPC said it would transport up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas per year. Of that, 15 bcm annually will be available to Moroccan and European markets through the existing Maghreb-Europe pipeline that links Morocco to Spain. Cost estimates vary: Reuters reports $25 billion, while Ouest France and Digi24 cite 23 billion euros, and Deutsche Welle and France 24 put the figure at $27 billion.

Geopolitical context

The project was first discussed in 2016 during King Mohammed VI's visit to Abuja, where he and then-president Muhammadu Buhari agreed to pursue it. It gained fresh urgency after Algeria's 2022 decision to halt gas supplies to Spain via Morocco, following a diplomatic rupture between Algiers and Rabat in 2021. Algeria has its own Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline proposal, a 4,200-km route through Niger, which competes for Nigerian gas. The Morocco-backed pipeline is now a central pillar of Rabat's economic diplomacy in Africa.

Next steps

ONHYM and NNPC said the next phases include establishing a project company based in Casablanca and a pipeline governance authority in Abuja. After that, the partners will seek investors and prepare a final investment decision. Reuters reported that a separate deal between Morocco and Mauritania is expected to be signed later, in the presence of Nigeria's president. Construction is scheduled to begin in 2028, with first gas deliveries targeted for 2031, according to an ONHYM source.

Official statements

Amina Benkhadra, director general of ONHYM, said the pipeline would strengthen energy security, accelerate industrialisation, and support the development of African natural resources. The joint statement described the project as a new development corridor linking West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe, and as a step toward integrating African energy markets.

The NMGP pipeline will make a sustainable contribution to strengthening energy security, accelerating industrialisation, supporting the development of African natural resources and promoting shared prosperity.