The Nigerian Ambassador to Senegal, Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, affirmed that the strategic gas pipeline project linking Nigeria to Morocco is on the right track, particularly after the signing, recently in Rabat, of a tripartite memorandum of understanding (Morocco- Nigeria-ECOWAS).
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project officially took off after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), mid-September in Rabat, between the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the Kingdom of Morocco and the Economic Community of African States of the West (ECOWAS), said Mr. Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, who was speaking on Saturday on the occasion of the celebration in Dakar of Nigeria’s Independence Day, in the presence of representatives of the Diplomatic Corps accredited to Senegal , including the ambassador of His Majesty the King, Mr. Hassan Naciri.
Underlining the strategic importance of this project, the Nigerian diplomat indicated that the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, which should be about 5,600 kilometers long, will connect Nigerian gas resources to West African countries and the Morocco.
“When completed, the project will supply approximately 3 billion standard cubic feet per day of gas along the West African coast from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco,” noted the Nigerian Ambassador.
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The memorandum of understanding for this strategic project, which emanates from the far-sighted vision of HM King Mohammed VI and Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, was initialed by Sediko Douka, ECOWAS Commissioner in charge of Infrastructure, Energy and digitization, Mallam Mele Kolo Kyari, Chairman and CEO of NNPC, who represents Nigeria, and the Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), Ms. Amina Benkhadra, representative of Morocco.
The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline mega-project, whose feasibility study began in May 2017 at a cost of several billion dollars, was launched during the official visit of HM King Mohammed VI in December 2016 in Abuja, and a related agreement was signed on June 10, 2018, during a trip to Rabat by Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari.
This strategic project aims to be a catalyst for the economic development of the North West region of Africa. It is expected to benefit nearly 400 million people living in the region and improve the economic and social well-being of its populations.
The Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline also aims to create a competitive regional electricity market, the exploitation of clean energy, the contribution to the industrial and economic development of all the countries crossed through the development of several sectors such as agriculture, industry, mining, flaring reduction, as well as the export of gas to Europe.
With MAP