The commissioning of the transatlantic African gas pipeline Nigeria - Morocco (Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline, NMGP) will allow the European Union to reduce its dependence on other suppliers on blue fuel. This was stated by the Director General of the Moroccan National Office for Hydrocarbons and Mining (ONHYM) Amina Benhadra.
She was speaking at a meeting of officials from more than ten African countries taking place in Abidjan (Ivory Coast's largest city and economic center). It discusses issues related to the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, through which gas will be exported from Africa to the EU, the Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) news agency reports.
"The Nigeria-Morocco strategic gas pipeline project is progressing extremely favorably due to the commitment of all the countries it will pass through. The project is truly strategic in scope as it will help accelerate countries' access to energy in this African sub-region, Benhadra stressed. According to her, in some countries that will participate in the NMGP project, the level of electrification is currently below 40%.
The Transatlantic African Gas Pipeline “will enable the export of gas to EU countries and therefore provide an opportunity to reduce Europe's dependence on other natural gas suppliers and diversify sources of supply,” said the CEO of ONHYM.
Initiators of the construction of the world's longest underwater gas pipeline with a length of about 5,660 km are the king of Morocco, Mohammed VI, and the former president of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari. The gas pipeline is expected to be laid along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean along the coast of West Africa. The project is planned to be used in the future to ensure the export of gas to the EU through Moroccan territory.
At the end of 2023, Mohammed VI in one of his speeches called the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline a project that will become a “reliable source of energy supplies for European countries”. As Malam Mele Kyari, CEO of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, said last year, the cost of building the NMGP will be over USD 25 billion.