Nigeria and its other partners will take a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline in 2023.
This is according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).
Group Chief Executive Officer of the NNPC, Mallam Mele Kyari, made this known in an interview with Bloomberg.
The 5,600-kilometer (3,840-mile) pipeline is meant to supply fuel to Europe, with the NNPC and the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines of Morocco, signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the deal last month.
It traverses 13 African countries and is aimed at monetising Nigeria’s abundant natural gas resources, diversify the country’s gas export routes and eliminate gas flaring across Nigeria.
The pipeline will originate from Brass Island (Nigeria) and terminate in the North of Morocco, where it will be connected to the existing Maghreb European Pipeline that originates from Algeria (via Morocco), all the way to Spain, according to the sponsors.
Kyari, assured that the project was on course and remains one of the most critical for the company.
“We will take a final investment decision next year,” he said.
The 15-nation Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is also a signatory to the MoU.
The project will cost $20-25 billion to build and will be constructed in phases, according to Kyari, who anticipates the first segment would take three years to finish and the others five years.
Nigeria’s gas exports are currently limited to shipments from Nigeria LNG Ltd., a joint venture between NNPC and international energy companies including Shell Plc and Eni SpA.
