AFRICA · ENERGY
Key Facts
—The project: Nigeria and Morocco are advancing a $25 billion Atlantic coast gas pipeline.
—The route: It would run about 6,900 kilometres, mostly along West Africa’s shoreline.
—The reach: The line would link 13 coastal countries and could carry gas toward Europe.
—The capacity: It is designed to move up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas a year.
—The timing: An intergovernmental agreement is expected in late 2026, with first gas around 2031.
—The backers: President Tinubu of Nigeria and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI are driving it.
Nigeria and Morocco are pressing ahead with one of Africa’s most ambitious infrastructure dreams: a $25 billion gas pipeline that would trace the West African coast for thousands of kilometres and, one day, help feed Europe.
The scale of the gas pipeline
The project is vast even by the standards of big energy schemes.
The pipeline would stretch about 6,900 kilometres in a hybrid offshore and onshore route.
It is designed to carry up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas a year.
The price tag runs to some $25 billion.
That would make it one of the longest gas pipelines ever attempted.
The offshore stretches are meant to sidestep some of the most difficult terrain.
How it would work
The line would be built in stages rather than all at once.
Early sections would connect Morocco to gas fields in Mauritania and Senegal, and link Ghana to Ivory Coast.
A later segment would tie Ghana back to Nigeria’s huge gas reserves.
First gas from the initial sections is expected around 2031.
Building in phases lets early sections earn revenue before the whole line is finished.
It also spreads the enormous cost over many years.
Each completed link would also serve local markets along the way.
Why now
The timing is driven partly by events far to the north.
As Europe turns away from Russian gas, it is hunting for new and reliable suppliers.
That has made Africa’s gas, long underused, suddenly more valuable.
Nigeria holds vast reserves, and Morocco offers a gateway toward European markets.
European buyers are signing long-term deals to lock in supply away from Russia.
For African producers, that demand is a rare chance to fund big projects.
Gas is also central to Nigeria’s own plans for cleaner power at home.
The politics
The plan is being pushed at the highest level.
President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria and Morocco’s King Mohammed VI are its chief champions.
An intergovernmental agreement is expected in late 2026, with a joint venture to lead the work.
It is a bet measured in decades, not years.
The plan competes with an older proposal to send Nigerian gas north across the Sahara.
Backers argue the coastal route is safer and serves more countries.
The great-power angle
Energy on this scale is never just about energy.
A pipeline feeding Europe would deepen Africa’s ties to the continent to its north.
It would also mark a shift in who supplies the world’s gas, and on whose terms.
In that sense the project is one more front in the contest over Africa’s resources.
Whoever finances and builds the line will gain influence along its length.
Chinese, Gulf and Western firms are all likely to circle the project.
The hurdles
Ambition is one thing; delivery is another.
The cost is enormous, the financing unproven and the route long and, in places, insecure.
Coordinating 13 governments along the way is a diplomatic feat in itself.
Grand pipelines have a long history of slipping years behind schedule.
Security along parts of the West African coast remains a real concern.
Investors will want firm guarantees before committing tens of billions of dollars.
Past pan-African pipeline dreams have often stalled at the financing stage.
Why it matters
If it is built, the pipeline could reshape West Africa’s map.
It would knit a string of coastal states together and monetise gas that now goes to waste.
It would also hand the region new leverage in global energy markets.
Even as a plan, it is a marker of Africa’s rising ambition.
Success would turn a scattered set of gas fields into a single, saleable resource.
Failure would join a long list of grand African infrastructure dreams.
For a region rich in gas yet short of power, that prize is especially tempting.
It is the kind of project that could define the coming decade of African energy.
A dream worth watching
For now the pipeline exists mostly on paper and in political will.
Turning it into steel and gas will take money, patience and trust.
Yet the ambition itself signals a shift in how Africa sees its resources.
The continent increasingly wants to add value at home, not just export raw fuel.
Whether this project delivers or stalls, that ambition is here to stay.
And Europe, hungry for gas, will be watching to see if it does.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline?
A proposed $25 billion Atlantic coast pipeline running about 6,900 km to carry West African gas north, potentially to Europe.
How much gas would it carry?
It is designed to move up to 30 billion cubic metres a year, including supplies for Morocco and for export.
When could it be built?
An intergovernmental agreement is expected in late 2026, with first gas from the early sections around 2031.
Why is the project significant?
It would link 13 African countries, monetise Nigeria’s vast gas reserves and position Africa as a supplier to a Europe seeking alternatives to Russian gas.
Connected Coverage
The pipeline is part of the wider scramble for Africa’s resources, and of the contest playing out around the continent’s minerals and energy.
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