NNPC, Morocco To Sign Gas Pipeline Agreement

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited said it will on Thursday sign agreements on the gas pipeline project with the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco and the ECOWAS Commission.
NNPCL said the agreement is expected to drive the execution of the 7,000km Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline was proposed in a December 2016 agreement between the NNPC and the Moroccan Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (National Board of Hydrocarbons and Mines).
The Federal Executive Council in June authorised the NNPC to enter into an agreement with ECOWAS for the construction of the pipeline.
The government says the gas pipeline, designed to be 7,000km long, will reduce gas flaring in Nigeria and encourage the diversification of energy resources in the country while cutting down poverty through
the creation of more job opportunities.
It will further encourage utilisation of gas in the sub-region for cooking, and discourage desertification.
The NNPC in a statement on Tuesday said the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, paid a courtesy visit to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Alieu Touray in preparation for the signing of the agreement scheduled to hold on 15 September in Rabat, Morocco.
During the meeting, the statement said the NNPC and the ECOWAS Commission reaffirmed their commitment on the project to provide gas to the West African countries through the Kingdom of Morocco and subsequently Europe.
It said NNPC and ONHYM would also sign two Memorandum of Understanding with Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures of Mauritania and Petrosen of Senegal, both of whom are expected to participate in the project.
“Once completed, the project would supply about three billion standard cubic feet of gas along the West African Coast from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco.
“Other benefits of the NMGP project include improving the living standards of people, integration of the economies within the sub-region and mitigating against desertification through sustainable
& reliable gas supply,” it said.