Nigeria and Morocco are moving closer to finalising the $25 billion African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, with an intergovernmental agreement expected to be signed this year. Amina Benkhadra, Director-General of Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), confirmed the development in a Reuters interview on Monday. The 6,900-kilometre pipeline will transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually from Nigeria through 13 West African countries to Morocco, with 15 billion cubic metres earmarked for Moroccan domestic use and European exports. The project will follow a hybrid offshore-onshore route and is designed to be built in phases, allowing individual segments to operate independently and generate economic returns early. This approach avoids reliance on a single final investment decision. Feasibility studies and front-end engineering designs have already been completed. A high authority composed of ministerial representatives from the 13 participating countries will be established in Nigeria to oversee political and regulatory coordination. A project company will also be formed as a joint venture between NNPC and ONHYM, based in Morocco, to manage execution, financing, and construction. While investor interest is strong, no final funding commitments have been secured, with plans to raise a combination of equity and debt.
Amina Benkhadra's detailed roadmap for the $25bn Nigeria-Morocco pipeline reveals Morocco's calculated ambition to position itself as West Africa's energy gateway to Europe, not just a transit point. Her emphasis on phased development and a Morocco-hosted project company suggests Rabat is structuring the deal to maximise control and influence over a project that could reshape regional energy flows.
The project's design—bypassing traditional financing models in favour of segmented, self-sustaining sections—reflects a pragmatic response to Nigeria's chronic funding gaps and regional political volatility. By decentralising investment risk and locking in early economic returns, the model sidesteps the paralysis that has stalled other continental infrastructure dreams. Nigeria's NNPC, still grappling with post-subsidy financial restructuring, gains leverage by partnering with a North African state that has cultivated strong European energy ties, especially since Russia's war disrupted gas supplies.
Ordinary Nigerians in gas-producing regions like the Niger Delta may see new infrastructure and potential job creation, but only if early segments prioritise local supply over export. The real beneficiaries in the short term are likely to be industrial hubs in Lagos and Port Harcourt, where expanded gas access could stabilise power and lower production costs.
This pipeline fits a broader pattern: African megaprojects increasingly driven by foreign-aligned national champions rather than pan-African institutions. With ECOWAS present but not leading, the initiative underscores how bilateral power dynamics now shape regional integration more than collective policy.
