The Economic Community of West African States endorsed the intergovernmental agreement governing the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline on Sunday, July 19, in Freetown, Moroccan Arabic-language outlet Industrie du Maroc reported on Monday, citing AFP and information from Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines.

Also known as the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, the project is designed to carry up to 30 billion cubic metres of gas a year along a route of about 6,900 kilometres. It would start in southern Nigeria, follow West Africa’s Atlantic coast and continue north through Morocco before connecting to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline and Spain’s gas network.

The pipeline would serve 13 countries, including Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania.

Half of its planned capacity, or 15 billion cubic metres a year, could supply Morocco and European markets. The remaining volumes would notably be delivered to countries along the route, where the gas could be used for power generation and local industries.

The project would draw on Nigeria’s gas reserves, the largest in Africa. The country had more than 210 trillion cubic feet of proven reserves in 2025, but has struggled to translate that resource base into available production because of inadequate infrastructure, limited investment and continued gas flaring.

The Freetown agreement does not mark the start of construction. The next steps include setting up a special-purpose project company, to be based in Casablanca, and a governing authority headquartered in Abuja. The parties would then need to attract investors, secure commercial agreements and reach a final investment decision.

The project is estimated to cost around $25 billion, or nearly €23 billion. Its length, the number of countries involved and the political, financial and security risks surrounding the route continue to cast uncertainty over the timetable.

Construction is targeted for 2028, with first gas deliveries expected in 2031, according to a source at ONHYM cited by AFP. Those dates, however, remain dependent on the project securing sufficient financing.

The Nigeria-Morocco pipeline is competing with the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, a shorter route of about 4,100 kilometres linking Nigeria to Algeria through Niger. Algeria began construction on a new section of the pipeline in Adrar on June 4, giving fresh momentum to the long-delayed rival project.