Nigeria seeks UAE funding for gas pipeline with Morocco
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Leadership and Yabiladi
Nigeria is seeking investor support, including from ADNOC, to finance the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, a project estimated at between $25 billion and $26 billion. The 6,800-kilometre line is to carry up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas a year through 13 Atlantic countries, with 15 billion destined for Morocco and then Europe, according to Leadership.
NNPC is working to structure investment in the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, with discussions held notably with ADNOC, following the agreement signed in September by the countries along the route, Bashir Bayo Ojulari said in Abu Dhabi. The project is being developed jointly with ONHYM and is intended to enable Nigeria to monetise nearly 20,000 billion standard cubic feet of deepwater gas reserves from production-sharing contracts with ExxonMobil, Shell and Total.
The gas pipeline, more than 5,100 kilometres of which is to be built offshore, will be developed in phases from the West African Gas Pipeline, in which NNPC holds a 24.9% stake. The first extension is to reach Sierra Leone before continuing to other countries. The WAGP currently connects Nigeria to Benin, Togo and Ghana by sea.
In June 2026, NNPC announced the completion of front-end engineering design and route studies, as well as progress on environmental and social studies and key legal, regulatory and commercial frameworks. Gas destined for Morocco is then to be transported to Europe via the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline linking Morocco to Spain.
At the same time, Nigeria, Algeria and Niger agreed on a financing structure for the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline, estimated at between $10 billion and $13 billion. Bashir Bayo Ojulari plans to begin discussions on the final investment decision for the 4,327-kilometre project in 2027, which also involves Sonatrach and SONIDEP.
