After nearly 10 years of diplomatic negotiations and technical planning, one of Africa’s most ambitious cross-border energy infrastructure projects has cleared its final major political hurdle. West African regional leaders gathered in Freetown on Sunday to formally sign off on the Nigeria-Morocco Atlantic Gas Pipeline, a transformative initiative that experts say could reconfigure the continent’s energy economy and strengthen Africa’s position in global energy markets.
“Don’t be surprised when the gas comes your way,” Julius Maada Bio, Sierra Leone’s president and current chair of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), joked following the endorsement ceremony, reflecting the widespread optimism among participating nations for the long-awaited project.
Stretching 6,000 kilometers along Africa’s Atlantic coast, the massive pipeline will traverse the territory of 14 African countries. It will carry natural gas from Nigeria — home to Africa’s largest proven natural gas reserves — north to Morocco, where it will connect to existing European gas infrastructure via a link to Spain. If executed according to plan, the pipeline will transport up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, serving more than 400 million consumers across West Africa, North Africa and Europe, and ranking among the longest offshore gas pipelines in the world.
Construction is currently scheduled to break ground in 2028, with an estimated total price tag of $25 billion. Unlike the existing Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline that crosses the Sahel region through Niger and Algeria, the Atlantic coastal route avoids the Sahel’s most politically unstable and insecure areas, though extensive offshore construction drives up the project’s overall costs.
Energy analysts and African academics frame the pipeline as a break from the exploitative energy model that has long defined resource extraction on the continent. For decades, African gas has typically been extracted locally, shipped abroad for processing, then sold back to African nations at markups of 300% to 400%, Charles Majomi, an energy expert and former advisor to the Nigerian government, explained to BBC Focus on Africa. That cycle, he argues, devalues the abundant natural resources that African nations are endowed with, and it must end.
When leveraged strategically, proponents argue the pipeline will deliver far-reaching benefits beyond simple energy export. It will stimulate regional industrial development, expand access to affordable energy for domestic consumers, and strengthen Africa’s negotiating power in global energy forums. “In terms of Africa’s regional security and its ability to negotiate and have a seat at the global table, if you will, it does need this measure of usefulness to countries in Europe and Asia potentially,” Majomi noted.
Beyond energy security, the project will position West Africa as a strategic energy corridor connecting global supply and demand, according to Professor Ganiyat Adejoke Adesina-Uthman of the National Open University of Nigeria. She called the project a powerful symbol of what African nations can accomplish through cross-border collaboration.
For nations across the Atlantic coast that currently rely on overpriced imported fuel, the pipeline will open new opportunities to build domestic power generation facilities, fertiliser production plants, petrochemical facilities and manufacturing hubs, driving inclusive economic growth across the region. For Nigeria, the project unlocks a clear path to monetise its vast untapped gas reserves while strengthening economic and political ties between West and North Africa.
Sunday’s agreement establishes the formal legal and governance framework for the project, clearing the last major political barrier before moving forward with financing and construction planning. First proposed in 2016, the initiative has now advanced further into political and technical development than at any previous point. To reduce initial risk, the project will be built in sequential phases rather than all at once, with construction starting along the Morocco-Mauritania-Senegal corridor first, before extending east to Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, and finally connecting to Nigeria to begin gas flows.
Feasibility and front-end engineering design studies are already complete, and the pipeline’s route has been agreed by all participating parties. Still, major obstacles remain before construction can begin. The $25 billion cost projection could rise due to ongoing global inflation, and securing the 6,000-kilometer route across 14 jurisdictions will require coordinated security efforts from all member states, including the use of drone surveillance and engagement with local host communities to prevent attacks on infrastructure. Analysts also note that competing export projects, including existing liquefied natural gas (LNG) initiatives and the alternative Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, could draw investment away. Long-term uncertainty also remains around European gas demand, as the continent accelerates its transition to renewable energy sources.
Despite these challenges, proponents remain upbeat about the project’s long-term potential. “Nigeria has the gas and there’s market access from Morocco to Europe. It’s not just extracting energy, it will lead to access to clean energy for many countries with Morocco as a gateway,” Adesina-Uthman said. “It will also create industries, job opportunities and ultimately a global market. It’s not just for regional integration but a global project.”
The project is jointly led by Nigeria’s state oil company and Morocco’s national mining body, with support from regional and international institutions including ECOWAS, the Islamic Development Bank and the OPEC Fund for International Development.