Nigeria’s New Gas Pipeline Deal with Equatorial Guinea Raises Questions for Morocco Project

This agreement was signed as part of a "regional cooperation" aimed at ensuring the reliability of supplies and securing flows for the years to come, explained Oburu Ondo, Equatorial Guinean Minister of Mines and Hydrocarbons, to the Offshore magazine. No details of the agreement were revealed and no date was given for the start of work on this gas pipeline that would allow Equatorial Guinea to be supplied with Nigerian gas.

The Nigeria-Equatorial Guinea gas pipeline project raises serious questions. Some wonder if it will be integrated into the transatlantic gas pipeline project with Morocco or the trans-Saharan one with Algeria, or if it is an independent initiative aimed at taking advantage of the rivalry between the two neighbors and thus block the implementation of these projects. According to Ahmed Tartar, an Algerian energy expert, the signing of this new agreement cannot affect the pipeline project with Algeria or Morocco, as this country does not have pipelines that can reach Europe.

In an interview with Sputnik, he indicated that the recent tensions between Algeria and Niger, added to Nigeria’s reluctance, have undoubtedly contributed to slowing down the process, assuring that Algeria has already completed 70% of the project on its territory. According to the Algerian expert, the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project crossing 11 countries would be more costly and would require a longer implementation period than the one with Algeria, which, according to him, is the best option for serving Europe.

But in view of the political situation in Niger and Equatorial Guinea’s agreement with Nigeria, he suggests a relaunch of the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline. This project remains current and a priority for the Moroccan authorities, confirms a Moroccan academic, recalling that feasibility studies have recently been launched. King Mohammed VI exchanged a telephone call in early 2024 with Nigerian President Bola Tinubu on this important project, he added.