NNPCL to invest $12.5 billion to secure 50% equity stake
By Felicia Nwosu
To accelerate the completion of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline project, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has conclude plans to invest about $12.5 billion to secure a 50 per cent equity stake in the $25 billion Gas Pipeline project. NNPCL’s decision was reached after the parties in the project have resolved a lingering Production Sharing Contract, PSC.
Mallam Mele Kyari, NNPCL’s Group Chief Executive Officer disclosed this in Abuja recently. According to him, “The pipeline project, which will connect Nigeria to Morocco, is already at FEED Phase II, undergoing Environmental Impact Assessment and Right of Way Surveys,” The CEO highlighted that more investment is expected as a result of the recently resolved production sharing contract disputes with partners.
Timipre Sylva, Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources revealed that there are pending issues which have caused some delays as the start date for the construction of the gas pipeline has not yet been set as some administrative issues need to be resolved. Morocco will host 1,672 kilometers of the pipeline, which is expected to benefit over 400 million people in West Africa.
King Mohammed VI, king of Morocco, noted the importance of the project and the need to see to its completion, describing it as a strategic turning point that will significantly advance the continent’s development.
“I want this to be a strategic project that benefits all of West Africa – a region which is home to more than 440 million people,” the King said during his speech, commemorating the 47th anniversary of the Green March in 2022. This is a project for peace, for African economic integration, and for co-development: a project for the present and for future generations,” the monarch said.
The project was first proposed by Both King Mohammed VI and pipeline project, which will connect Nigeria to Morocco, in 2016. Later on, the project gained substantial traction lately due to rising energy prices and decreasing
European gas supplies amid the war in Ukraine. The pipeline is expected to help Morocco overcome its persistent energy crisis, with the North African country currently importing 90 per cent of its energy needs.
The 5,600-kilometer-long pipeline project will span across 13 countries along the Atlantic coast. The project gained unwavering support from many countries, including Nigeria, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Ghana.
The countries signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) in December 2022, reflecting their determination to support the Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline project, which aims to improve energy infrastructure in the region.
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