Atlantic African Gas pipeline: follow-up meetings held in Rabat

Monday 14 July 2025 - 16:15

Follow-up meetings on the Atlantic African Gas Pipeline Project were held on July 10 and 11 in Rabat, in line with governance protocols signed between national oil companies.

Organized by Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), the sessions brought together top executives and teams from the oil companies of countries crossed by the pipeline, as well as representatives from the ECOWAS Commission on Infrastructure, Energy, and Digitalization. Moroccan energy authorities, including the Ministry of Energy Transition, ONEE, and MASEN, also participated.

According to ONHYM, the project has already reached major technical, environmental, and institutional milestones. Engineering studies were completed in 2024, while survey and ESIA (Environmental and Social Impact Assessment) studies for the northern segment are done. Studies for the southern leg, from Nigeria to Senegal, are still underway.

Designed to carry 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually, the project will be rolled out in phases. A project holding company will oversee governance during the financing and construction stages, managing three special-purpose vehicles (SPVs) for different pipeline segments.

The Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)—defining the rights and responsibilities of each participating nation—was approved in December 2024 during the 66th ECOWAS Summit.

On the sidelines of the meeting, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC), ONHYM (Morocco), and SOTOGAZ (Togo), following SOTOGAZ’s official entry into the project.

Stakeholders welcomed the progress made and reaffirmed their shared commitment to this strategic initiative, launched by King Mohammed VI of Morocco and Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

The pipeline, which will stretch along the West African coast—from Nigeria to Morocco via 13 countries—will also be connected to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline and Europe’s gas network. Landlocked countries such as Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali will also benefit from access to natural gas.

This initiative is a key pillar of Morocco’s Atlantic Strategy, aimed at boosting regional integration, economic growth, and energy access across Africa.