- The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has taken a decisive step toward transforming Africa’s energy landscape as Heads of State from member countries signed the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) during the ECOWAS Summit held in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The agreement provides the sovereign framework required to advance one of Africa’s most ambitious cross-border energy infrastructure projects, designed to unlock West Africa’s vast natural gas reserves, strengthen regional energy security, and expand gas exports to Morocco and European markets.
Jointly promoted by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the pipeline will stretch approximately 6,900 kilometres along the Atlantic coast, connecting Nigeria to Morocco through 13 West African coastal nations while extending gas access to landlocked Sahel countries.
With an annual transport capacity of about 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas, the project is expected to stimulate industrialisation, improve electricity generation, deepen regional economic integration, and create thousands of employment opportunities across participating countries.
The latest agreement follows approval granted during the 66th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Abuja in December 2024 and concludes the institutional process initiated after the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding between Nigeria and Morocco.
NNPC Ltd. Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the signing as a defining milestone that provides the sovereign foundation necessary to move the project from planning to implementation.
According to him, the project aligns with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s strategic vision of commercialising Nigeria’s abundant gas resources by providing infrastructure capable of delivering approximately 3 billion cubic feet of gas per day to regional and international markets.
Director General of ONHYM, Mrs. Amina Benkhadra, also described the agreement as another significant milestone for the project, noting that it reflects the shared vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco and President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a more integrated Atlantic Africa.
Project development has already recorded substantial progress, including completion of Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies, route reconnaissance surveys, environmental and social impact studies, as well as key legal, regulatory and commercial frameworks.
Following the expected signatures by Morocco and Mauritania, implementation will advance with the establishment of the Pipeline Higher Authority (PHA) in Abuja and the AAGP Project Company in Casablanca ahead of the Final Investment Decision (FID).
The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline is widely regarded as a strategic project capable of redefining Africa’s energy architecture by improving regional gas supply, supporting industrial value chains, expanding electricity access, and strengthening economic cooperation across West Africa and beyond.
