West Africa’s $25 Billion Mega Gas Pipeline: What You Need to Know

West Africa is moving closer to one of the continent’s biggest energy infrastructure projects: the $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline.

The project recently reached a major milestone after ECOWAS member states signed an intergovernmental agreement backing the pipeline, giving fresh momentum to a project that has been in development for about a decade.

The pipeline will connect Nigeria to Morocco, passing through 13 West African countries:

Nigeria → Benin → Togo → Ghana → Côte d’Ivoire → Liberia → Sierra Leone → Guinea → Guinea-Bissau → The Gambia → Senegal → Mauritania → Morocco.

It is planned as a roughly 6,900-kilometre hybrid offshore and onshore pipeline, making it one of Africa’s most ambitious energy infrastructure projects. The project is being jointly led by Nigeria’s national oil company, NNPC Ltd, and Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM). The two state energy organisations are responsible for developing the project, while the participating West African countries provide the regional framework needed for the pipeline to cross their territories.

At its core, the project is designed to transport Nigerian natural gas across West Africa to Morocco and eventually European markets. The pipeline is expected to have the capacity to transport up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas annually. Around half of that volume could eventually be directed towards Morocco and Europe through Morocco’s existing connection to Spain.

But the project is not only about exporting gas. The pipeline is also intended to expand access to natural gas within West Africa, supporting electricity generation, industries and economic development in countries along the route. It could also deepen regional economic integration by connecting several West African energy markets.

The route will largely follow the West African Atlantic coastline. It will begin in Nigeria and move westward through the coastal countries before reaching Morocco. From Morocco, the gas can be connected to existing infrastructure linking the country with Spain and the wider European gas market. The Moroccan section alone is expected to cover approximately 2,220 kilometres, including about 1,830 kilometres onshore and 390 kilometres offshore.

The project has already passed its feasibility-study and front-end engineering design stages, while environmental and engineering preparations for construction are progressing. A final investment decision is targeted for late 2026. The project is expected to be developed in phases. Current plans indicate that the first sections could begin transporting gas around 2031, with the full network developing progressively thereafter.

If completed, the Nigeria-Morocco pipeline could fundamentally reshape West Africa’s energy landscape. For Nigeria, it provides another potential route for monetising its enormous natural-gas reserves. For countries along the route, it could improve access to gas for power generation and industry. And for Morocco and Europe, it creates another potential source of natural gas.