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West African Leaders Sign $25B Pipeline Pact Creating Legal Framework for Gas Exports
ECOWAS members approved a common legal framework for the 6,900 km project during a summit in Sierra Leone. The pipeline would move up to 30 billion cubic meters of Nigerian gas annually to Morocco and potentially Europe.
Jul 21, 1:50 PM·1m read5 sources
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West African leaders signed an intergovernmental agreement supporting the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline on Sunday at an ECOWAS summit in Sierra Leone. The pact creates a shared legal framework for the participating states but stops short of a final investment decision.
The nearly 6,900 km pipeline is projected to cost about $25 billion and carry up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas each year through 13 countries to Morocco.
It would include connections for landlocked Sahel nations and link to European markets via the existing Maghreb-Europe network, according to a joint statement from Nigeria’s NNPC and Morocco’s ONHYM. Nigeria and Morocco launched the project in 2016. ECOWAS joined in 2022 through a memorandum of understanding with the two national companies.
Nigeria ranked as the world’s sixth-largest liquefied natural gas exporter in 2024. A coalition of 40 environmental and civil society groups opposed the project in 2018, citing increased fossil-fuel extraction and emissions. Plans to route the line through Western Sahara have drawn separate criticism over consent from the Sahrawi population.
The Atlantic route competes with the 4,100 km Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline. Algeria and Niger agreed in February to restart work on that line after years of delays.
