TheCable

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Morocco and the national oil companies of five West African countries on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project. 

Garba Deen Muhammad, NNPC’s spokesperson, in a statement, said the signing ceremony was held in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, on Monday.

According to the statement, the MoU was signed by Nigeria’s NNPC Ltd, Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco (ONHYM) and the national oil companies and commercial entities of Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone, executed the MoU. 

This, it said, represents a significant step in fulfilling the federal government’s drive towards harnessing Nigeria’s abundant gas resources through the NMGP.

Speaking shortly after signing the MoU on behalf of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, group chief executive officer (GCEO), said Africa stands to benefit immensely from the execution of the project which extends beyond the supply of gas to energise the countries along the route.

“Other benefits include the creation of wealth and improvement in the standard of living of our citizenry, increased cooperation between our countries while mitigating against desertification and other benefits to be derived from reduction in carbon emission,” he said. 

Describing natural gas as a critical fuel in the transition towards net-zero, the GCEO stressed that NNPC is well positioned to advance the NMGP project.

This, he said, will be by leveraging its experience and technical capabilities, ranging from gas production, processing, transmission and marketing as well as its vast experience in executing major gas infrastructure projects in Nigeria.

“NNPC Ltd will facilitate the continuous supply of gas and provide other enablers such as the required land for the first compressor station to be deployed in Nigeria, which is among the thirteen stations earmarked along the pipeline route,” Kyari said.

Kyari further lauded the strategic vision of President Muhammadu Buhari and Mohammed VI, king of Morocco, for entrusting NNPC Ltd and ONHYM with this strategic project.

In their respective speeches, the representatives of the West African countries reiterated the commitment of their countries towards making the NMGP project a reality.

Sylvia Assimeng Archer, the general manager (GM), commercial/legal advisor of Ghana Gas, who described the MoU signing as historic, said the occasion was of monumental significance to her organisation in its quest to bring nations and communities together through its operations.

On his part, Baboucarr Njie, managing director of Gambia’s National Petroleum Company (GNPC), said his country’s search for hydrocarbons, is encouraged by recent discoveries in neighbouring Senegal and Mauritania.

He added that the opportunity presented by the NMGP project will tremendously boost their chances to discover natural gas in the Gambia.

In his remarks, Celedonio Viera, the general director of PETROGUIN of Guinea Bissau, said his country was glad to be involved in the NMGP project because it would boost the livelihoods and economies of the countries across the continent.

The NMGP project is an initiative of the federal government and the Kingdom of Morocco, conceived during the visit of Mohammed VI to Nigeria in December 2016.

It is a 5,600 kilometers gas pipeline project traversing 13 African countries namely Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco.

Once completed, the project will supply about three billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (3bscf/d) from Nigeria to the Kingdom of Morocco and subsequently to Europe.

In September 2022, NNPC Ltd and ONHYM signed MoUs with the ECOWAS Commission for the project.

Similarly, in October 2022, it also executed an MoU with Petrosen of Senegal and SMH of Mauritania.