Nigeria and Morocco are expected to sign an intergovernmental agreement this year for the $25 billion African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) project, a 6,900-kilometre hybrid offshore-onshore pipeline that will connect 13 African countries. Amina Benkhadra, Director General of Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), confirmed the development in a Reuters interview on Monday. The pipeline will have a maximum capacity of 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of gas annually, with 15 bcm allocated to supply Morocco and support gas exports to Europe. Following the signing of the agreement, a regulatory authority will be established in Nigeria, composed of ministerial representatives from all participating countries to oversee political and regulatory coordination. The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and ONHYM will form a joint venture project company based in Morocco to manage execution, financing, and construction. Feasibility studies and front-end engineering design (FEED) for the project have already been completed. The pipeline will be developed in phases, with each segment functioning as a standalone system to allow early economic returns. Benkhadra stated that the project will enhance electricity generation, industrial expansion, and mining activities across West Africa while reinforcing Morocco's role as an energy corridor between Africa and Europe.
The most striking aspect of the AAGP is not its scale but its governance model—a multinational authority hosted in Nigeria, with equal input from 13 countries, suggesting a rare consensus on shared energy infrastructure in a region often divided by competing national interests. By situating the regulatory body in Nigeria and anchoring execution through a joint venture between NNPC and Morocco's ONHYM, the project reflects a strategic balancing of West African resource capacity and North African geopolitical ambition. This arrangement sidesteps traditional donor-led development templates, instead positioning African institutions at the helm of a critical energy artery.
Globally, the pipeline aligns with a growing shift toward regional energy interconnectivity, particularly as Europe seeks alternative gas suppliers amid post-Ukraine war realignments. Morocco's inclusion of 15 bcm for European export capacity positions it as a gatekeeper in the emerging Africa-Europe energy corridor, mirroring Algeria's and Nigeria's existing roles but with a more integrated regional framework. Unlike past pipelines that prioritised single export routes, the AAGP's phased, modular design allows incremental monetisation, reducing financial risk in a volatile investment climate.
For Nigeria and other participating African nations, the project offers a rare opportunity to leverage stranded gas reserves for domestic industrialisation, not just export. If managed transparently, revenues could support power sector reform and job creation across the corridor. More broadly, the model could inspire similar cross-border infrastructure in Africa, where energy fragmentation has long hindered growth.
The next milestone to watch is the formal signing of the intergovernmental agreement, which will signal whether political will can translate into binding commitments among all 13 nations.
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