West African leaders on Sunday endorsed the Nigeria-Morocco African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) by signing the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) governing the multibillion-dollar project during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The agreement marks a major milestone for the nearly 6,800-kilometre pipeline, which will transport natural gas from Nigeria to Morocco before connecting to the European gas network through the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline.
The project was launched as a strategic initiative by King Mohammed VI of Morocco and the late Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, and continues to receive the backing of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. It is being jointly developed by Morocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.).
The signing paves the way for the project's next implementation phase, including the establishment of a dedicated project company headquartered in Casablanca and a Higher Pipeline Authority to be based in Abuja. The new phase will also focus on mobilizing investors and preparing the Final Investment Decision (FID).
A final signing ceremony involving Morocco and Mauritania is expected to take place in the Kingdom of Morocco in the presence of President Tinubu, completing the legal framework governing the project.
Once completed, the pipeline will cross 13 countries along Africa's Atlantic coast before linking to Morocco's gas infrastructure and the European network. It is designed to transport 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually, with up to 15 billion cubic metres expected to be supplied to Morocco and European markets, while the remainder will serve West African countries.
Estimated to cost around $25 billion, the project aims to establish an integrated regional gas market across West Africa, support electricity generation, accelerate industrialization, and enhance the development of the continent's natural resources. The first sections of the pipeline are expected to become operational at the beginning of the next decade.
Initially conceived as a bilateral Morocco-Nigeria initiative, the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline has evolved into a regional project embraced by all ECOWAS member states, reinforcing its political legitimacy and institutional backing.
The collective endorsement by ECOWAS members underscores the project's role in advancing African energy security, regional integration, and economic development. Morocco and Nigeria have consistently promoted the pipeline as a strategic instrument for strengthening the continent's sovereignty, industrial growth, and shared prosperity.
ONHYM and NNPC Ltd. said the project's main engineering, environmental, and technical studies have now been completed, allowing it to move gradually into the operational development phase following the signing of the intergovernmental agreement.
Beyond its energy objectives, the African Atlantic Gas Pipeline is expected to serve as a major development corridor, improving connectivity between African economies and enhancing regional competitiveness while strengthening links between Africa and Europe.
