Heba Press
The Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, Amina Benkhadra, confirmed that the strategic Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline project (Nigeria-Morocco) is progressing “in a very positive manner”, thanks to the commitment of all the countries concerned.
Benkhadra indicated, in a statement to the Maghreb Arab Press, on the sidelines of a regional workshop devoted to the study and approval of the intergovernmental agreement and the agreement of the host country of this project (August 27 to 30), that this project emerges from the visionary vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and former Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, with the support of current Nigerian President Bola Tinubu, is a project that has a real strategic dimension, because it will contribute to accelerating the access of countries of this African region to energy, especially since the electrification rate of some of its countries is less than 40 percent.
The official explained: “This pioneering project, which embodies the importance of South-South cooperation, will contribute to economic and social development, particularly through the development of various industries, including the mining sector, given the significant mineral resources that the countries concerned are rich in.”
After stressing that these countries need sustainable energy in order to develop, Benkhadra stressed that the implementation of this project will contribute to achieving sustainable growth and creating employment opportunities, and thus contribute to stabilizing young people in this region of the continent.
According to Benkhadra, the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline project will also contribute to achieving greater integration in this African region, regretting that Africa is still the least integrated continent in the world, even if integration is undoubtedly an engine of growth and development.
In this regard, she stressed that the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline (Nigeria-Morocco) is not only a transport and energy access project, but rather a major project that will ensure political, economic and social stability in this part of Africa, and will also contribute to achieving energy security not only in Africa, but also with the European continent.
She added that the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline will also allow the export of gas to Europe, thus reducing the continent’s dependence on other natural gas suppliers by diversifying its sources of supply.
She also welcomed the holding in Abidjan of this workshop devoted to the study and ratification of the intergovernmental agreement and the host country agreement for the gas pipeline project, noting that this working meeting is part of the progress of the work of the Morocco-Nigeria strategic gas pipeline project.
She said: “We are meeting today in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, at the level of experts from the thirteen countries participating in this project, to put the final touches to the intergovernmental agreement or treaty that must be signed by all countries, and on the host country agreement, which is the governmental agreement between the State and the project company.
She continued: “We are pleased with the presence of experts and representatives from all the countries concerned, which demonstrates their availability and commitment to contribute to the implementation and completion of a strategic and structured project such as the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline (Nigeria-Morocco). ).”
After stressing that the intergovernmental agreement constitutes an essential element in the development of this type of major cross-border projects, as it will define all the conditions for the management and governance of the project between all the countries concerned, she noted that this agreement had been in preparation for more than a year between the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, and was the subject of several workshops in Rabat and Marrakech throughout 2023 and 2024.
Benkhadra concluded that today, thanks to the Economic Community of West African States (CEADOW), fully involved in this project, “we are already in the final stages of discussions with all the countries concerned, represented by their experts and representatives of the Union”, energy ministries and national companies.
