The Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali chaired on Friday the Moroccan delegation which took part in the joint ministerial meeting organized by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the unique project of African Atlantic gas pipeline (Nigeria-Morocco) in Abuja, Nigeria. She was accompanied by Amina Benkhadrageneral director of theNational Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM)Mr. Moha Ouali Tagma, Moroccan Ambassador to Nigeria as well as senior officials of the ministry.
During this meeting, Ms. Benali reaffirmed Morocco’s commitment to the project of African Atlantic Gas Pipelineaimed at strengthening energy ties between West African countries and Morocco. She indicated that this strategic project aims to enable the emergence of real prosperity for Africa and its populations by locally exploiting African resources, developing industrial infrastructure and creating jobs.
The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline has always been much more than a simple pipeline, she stressed, affirming that it is an eminently political project, the idea of which is supported by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the Presidents of Nigeria.
“Their support for this vision has never wavered, because it is not just about infrastructure crossing several African countries over 6,000 kilometers, with a capacity of 15 to 30 billion cubic meters of gas, or even modern access to energy for nearly 400 million people spread across 13 countries”, explained the minister, noting that this project is above all a response to the global recognition, particularly in Europe, that the last reservoir of productive capacity for the decades to come is Africa.
Thanking the various partners who adhered to this vision by contributing to the perseverance necessary to pursue this initiative, Ms. Benali announced that from now on, the project is called the Africa Atlantic gas pipelinein reference to the Atlantic vision of HM the King, aiming to offer Sahel countries a door to the Atlantic and an opening to prosperity.
Furthermore, she stressed that this meeting is an opportunity to make concrete progress towards the financial and technical means which will make this project viable and feasible, including the projects ofrenewable energy essential in the Moroccan energy strategy.
Transnational infrastructures like this gas pipeline require structured, continuous and rigorous financing, she continued, specifying that once operational, this infrastructure must be able to meet the energy supply needs of the continent and its partners.
This meeting of ministers in charge of Energy and Hydrocarbons, extended to the ministers of Morocco and Mauritania, was preceded by a meeting of sectoral experts, guaranteeing in-depth preparation of the subjects to be examined.
The Abuja meeting comes after a regional workshop to review and validate theHost Government Agreement (HGA)organized from October 8 to 11 in Lagos, Nigeria and which followed many rounds of negotiations on the provisions of theIntergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and theHost Government Agreement (HGA)organized in Rabat, Marrakech and Abidjan.
The organization of these working meetings and regional workshops on the draft Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and the draft Host Government Agreement (HGA) is part of the strategic project of Africa Atlantic gas pipelinelaunched following the visionary initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the former President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhariand supported by the current Nigerian President She was Tinbu.
At this meeting, ministers adopted theintergovernmental agreement (IGA) on the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline and theHost Government Agreement (HGA) annexed to the IGA. They also agreed to organize an official signing ceremony of the Intergovernmental Agreement during the next ECOWAS Summit in December or another date which will be limited to the first quarter of 2025.
It should be remembered that the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline project aims to promote economic development and facilitate access of the countries concerned to energy resources, while strengthening South-South cooperation, in accordance with the strategic vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI for sustainable and integrated energy development in Africa, particularly along the Atlantic coast. Launched at the initiative of the Sovereign and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari in December 2016, this project has already reached several important milestones, including the signing of memorandums of understanding between Morocco, Nigeria and the other countries concerned, as well as as the completion of the technical studies essential to its development.
