According to a senior official, the highly anticipated Nigeria Morocco natural gas pipeline project has made a significant breakthrough due to the upcoming establishment of a holding company. Amina Benhadra, Director General of the Moroccan National Office for Hydrocarbons and Mines, publicly stated that the establishment of a holding company responsible for financing and construction after the signing of the project related treaties will be a key step in accelerating the project into the next phase.

This measure marks a substantial step forward in the planning and execution of this massive infrastructure project with a total investment of up to 25 billion US dollars.

Spanning across thirteen countries, building a new regional energy corridor

This pipeline, with a planned length of about 6000 kilometers, can be called the "energy artery" of the African continent. It plans to deliver 15 billion to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, expected to provide energy supply to approximately 400 million people in 13 countries along the route, greatly improving the energy security level in the West Africa to North Africa region.

The pipeline starts from Nigeria and will pass through 11 coastal countries along the Atlantic coastline, including Benin, Togo, Ghana, and ultimately reach Morocco. In Morocco, it will be connected to the existing Maghreb Europe pipeline network, thus having the potential to supply gas to the European market. In addition, the project also plans to supply natural gas to three landlocked countries, Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali, to achieve widespread coverage.

Promote both segment advancement and international cooperation simultaneously

To efficiently manage this complex project, the developer plans to adopt a phased construction model. According to the plan, a holding company will be responsible for overall financing and coordination, and three independent project companies will be established to manage the construction of different road sections.

International cooperation is another pillar of the project. It is reported that during the Rabat conference, the National Oil Company of Nigeria, the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco, and the National Natural Gas Company of Togo jointly signed a new memorandum of understanding to strengthen multi-party cooperation. In addition, the United Arab Emirates has confirmed that it will provide financial support for the project together with several other international development banks, and the feasibility study of the project has been completed, paving the way for subsequent construction. Editor/Xu Shengpeng