Morocco-Nigeria Gas Pipeline Project Advances with New Financing Agreements

During a virtual ceremony on December 20, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB), represented by its Vice President Mansur Muhtar, and the Moroccan government, represented by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, and the Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), Amina Benkhadra, signed financing agreements for the realization of the Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) study of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project. This study marks an important step in the realization of the Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline, a project sponsored by King Mohammed VI and President Muhammadu Buhari.

This step aims to prepare the studies required for the pipeline and to help make the final investment decision (FID) by 2023 for the infrastructure project. In accordance with the agreement between the Moroccan and Nigerian governments, the two countries will share the cost of the project estimated at $90.1 million equally. The IsDB will provide the Moroccan contribution and participate in the financing of the project for an amount of $15.45 million under the "Ijara Service" operation. For the Nigerian contribution, the IsDB bank has approved financing of $29.75 million, which will bring the bank’s contribution to 50% of the total cost of the engineering and design studies (FEED) of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline.