West African Leaders Sign Agreement For Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline

ECOWAS heads of state signed an intergovernmental agreement on Sunday, 19 July 2026, in Freetown, Sierra Leone, formally endorsing the construction of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, a project expected to carry Nigerian natural gas across 13 West African countries to Morocco and onward to Europe.

The signing took place at a summit of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and marks a major milestone for the pipeline, which was first launched in 2016 by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and Nigeria’s late President Muhammadu Buhari. The project, also referred to as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, has continued to receive backing from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu since he assumed office.

ECOWAS Chairman Julius Maada Bio, who is also President of Sierra Leone, confirmed that the agreement had been signed and said member countries should expect gas supplies to follow in time. The pipeline will stretch approximately 6,000 kilometres, according to ECOWAS, crossing 13 countries along Africa’s Atlantic coast before connecting to the existing Maghreb-Europe pipeline in northern Morocco. Some project documentation puts the total length closer to 6,800 kilometres, a difference likely tied to ongoing route refinements.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), which are jointly developing the project, said in a statement that the pipeline is intended to link West Africa’s gas resources to major regional markets. The two agencies added that the project aims to strengthen the integration of African energy markets and create a new development corridor connecting West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.

According to Global Energy Monitor, the project is estimated to cost approximately 25 billion dollars. Once completed, the pipeline is expected to have a transport capacity of 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually. Of that volume, up to 15 billion cubic metres could be exported to Morocco and Europe, while the remainder would supply regional markets across West Africa.

Sunday’s signing gives the pipeline a regional dimension after it began as a bilateral initiative between Nigeria and Morocco more than a decade ago. Morocco and Mauritania, both of which are outside the ECOWAS bloc, are expected to sign the agreement separately at a later ceremony that will be attended by President Tinubu.

The next phase of the project includes the formal creation of the institutional framework ahead of a Final Investment Decision (FID) that will determine when construction begins. Officials have confirmed that the Project Company will be headquartered in Casablanca, Morocco, while the project’s governing body, the Pipeline Higher Authority, will be based in Abuja, Nigeria.

The pipeline has moved through years of feasibility studies, environmental assessments and technical negotiations involving the countries along its planned route. Officials say the project, if completed, would significantly expand Nigeria’s gas export capacity and give landlocked and coastal West African nations alike improved access to energy supplies.

For now, Sunday’s agreement stands as the most significant institutional step the pipeline has taken since it was first proposed, though full construction and delivery of gas remain years away, pending financing and the outstanding Final Investment Decision.