African Atlantic Gas Pipeline Gains ECOWAS Backing with $25 B Deal

Heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed an Intergovernmental Agreement in Freetown, Sierra Leone, formally endorsing the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) project that will link Nigeria to Morocco. The 6,900‑kilometre pipeline, valued at about US$25 billion, is designed to transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year across 13 Atlantic‑coast nations, including Nigeria, Morocco, Mauritania and Sierra Leone. Jointly developed by Nigeria’s National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM), the project is backed by the ECOWAS member states and aims to create an integrated West African gas market, support electricity generation and industrialisation, and connect to the Maghreb‑Europe pipeline for European exports.

The agreement also sets out the creation of a project company based in Casablanca and a Pipeline Higher Authority headquartered in Abuja, paving the way for investor mobilisation and a final investment decision. Although the political framework is now in place, construction will depend on securing financing and commercial contracts, with the first sections expected to become operational in the early 2030s and gas deliveries projected around 2030.