Nigeria-Morocco $25bn Gas Pipeline Faces Fresh Delays as Concerns Mount

Nigeria’s ambitious $25 billion–$27 billion African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) project is facing fresh concerns over delays, funding, bureaucracy and the country’s commitment to pushing the long-awaited infrastructure project forward.

The massive pipeline, originally known as the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, is designed to transport Nigerian natural gas through several West African countries to Morocco, with the potential to eventually supply European markets.

Despite years of planning and renewed regional backing, the project has yet to reach a Final Investment Decision (FID), raising questions over when construction will actually begin.

From Nigeria-Morocco Pipeline to African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline

The project received a major boost last month after the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) endorsed the African-Atlantic Gas Pipeline.

The development followed the signing of an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) by participating countries during the 69th Ordinary Session of the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government in Lungi, Sierra Leone, on July 19, 2026.

Nigeria was represented at the meeting by Vice President Kashim Shettima, while the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, described the agreement as an important step towards strengthening regional energy cooperation.

However, the latest regional agreement came roughly a decade after Nigeria and Morocco began pursuing the project through bilateral discussions.

Some energy experts believe Nigeria and Morocco could have made faster progress by establishing a stronger bilateral framework before bringing more countries into the arrangement.

An energy industry veteran from Adamawa State told Daily Trust that involving more countries could make the project more complicated because of competing interests and questions over how the benefits would be shared.

He also pointed to the long-running delay surrounding the proposed ECOWAS single currency as an example of how regional initiatives can struggle to move from agreements to implementation.

A Decade of Plans, But No Final Investment Decision

The pipeline has undergone several changes in its projected timeline since Nigeria and Morocco first signed agreements on the project.

In 2017, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (now NNPCL) and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) began feasibility studies.

The study was reportedly completed in 2019, after which the project progressed to Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) and further technical and financing assessments.

An FID was initially expected in 2023, but that deadline passed without the decision being reached. Subsequent projections pushed the expected date into 2024 and later 2025.

More recent project data has also shifted expected completion timelines, highlighting the uncertainty surrounding the project.

The proposed pipeline would stretch approximately 6,900 kilometres, including onshore and offshore sections, and pass through numerous West African countries.

It is designed to transport as much as 30 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas annually.

About half of the gas could be used to meet energy and industrial demand in participating West African countries, while the remainder could ultimately be directed towards Morocco and European markets.

Concerns Over Nigeria’s Commitment

Questions have also been raised over Nigeria’s political commitment to accelerating the project.

Morocco has remained a strong advocate of the pipeline, with King Mohammed VI having held talks with successive Nigerian presidents over the initiative.

The Moroccan monarch visited Nigeria in 2016, while former President Muhammadu Buhari later travelled to Morocco in 2018, where both countries witnessed the signing of agreements covering the gas pipeline and other areas of economic cooperation.

President Bola Tinubu also received an invitation from the Moroccan king in 2024 following a telephone conversation between the two leaders.

However, Tinubu has yet to visit Morocco, and attempts by Daily Trust to obtain a response from the Presidency over the status of the planned visit were reportedly unsuccessful.

Calls and messages sent to presidential spokesmen Bayo Onanuga and Daniel Bwala were not answered as of press time.

Meanwhile, some sources alleged that vested interests within the Nigerian government were contributing to the slow pace of the project.

NNPCL, however, insists that Nigeria remains committed to the initiative.

How Will the $25bn Project Be Funded?

The enormous cost of the pipeline means Nigeria and its partners are not expected to rely solely on government budgets.

The proposed financing structure involves a combination of public-private partnerships, equity contributions, multilateral financing and long-term gas supply agreements.

NNPCL and Morocco’s ONHYM are expected to contribute equity, while participating countries and their national oil companies could also take stakes in the project.

International financial institutions, including the African Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank and OPEC Fund for International Development, have been involved in supporting feasibility and pre-construction activities.

Long-term Gas Sales Agreements with European buyers and West African power and industrial users are also expected to provide revenue guarantees that could help attract commercial lenders and investors.

Security and Geopolitical Challenges

Beyond financing, the project faces significant security and geopolitical challenges.

A pipeline spanning almost 7,000 kilometres and crossing multiple countries would require extensive cooperation to protect the infrastructure from vandalism, theft and insecurity.

There are also competing strategic interests in North Africa, particularly with Algeria’s proposed Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), which is designed to transport Nigerian gas through Niger to Algeria and onward to European markets.

Financial expert Dan D. Kunle has questioned whether Nigeria currently has sufficient developed gas infrastructure to support such a massive export project.

He argued that having more than 200 trillion cubic feet of proven gas reserves does not automatically mean the country has enough commercially developed gas available for export.

According to him, Nigeria still faces challenges supplying its domestic electricity and industrial sectors with reliable gas.

He questioned the wisdom of prioritising large-scale exports when industries and power plants within Nigeria continue to struggle with inadequate gas supplies.

NNPCL: Nigeria Is Pursuing Both Projects

NNPCL has rejected suggestions that Nigeria is abandoning the Trans-Saharan project in favour of the African-Atlantic pipeline.

The company’s Chief Corporate Communications Officer, Andy Odeh, said the two projects should not be viewed as competing alternatives.

According to Odeh, the TSGP faces security, regional and geopolitical challenges, particularly because of instability in the Sahel and tensions involving Algeria and Morocco.

However, he said work on the project is continuing.

He disclosed that stakeholders at the TSGP Steering Committee meeting held on June 3, 2026, agreed on several measures to move the project forward, including optimising its capital expenditure. Another steering committee meeting is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2026 in Abuja.

On the AAGP, Odeh said the project benefits from the existing ECOWAS framework and the experience of the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP).

He noted that WAGP has transported more than 613 million MMBtu of natural gas, with Nigeria supplying over 68 per cent of the total volume delivered to neighbouring countries.

NNPCL believes the AAGP could build on that experience to create a wider regional energy corridor connecting West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco and Europe.

What Nigeria Stands to Gain

Supporters of the project see it as a major opportunity to unlock Nigeria’s vast gas reserves and strengthen the country’s energy and industrial sectors.

For Nigeria, the pipeline fits into the government’s broader Decade of Gas strategy by creating additional markets for gas that might otherwise remain undeveloped.

The project could generate additional foreign exchange, attract investment and provide long-term markets for Nigerian gas.

It could also strengthen energy supplies to participating West African countries while supporting industrialisation, electricity generation and agricultural development along the pipeline corridor.

But for those benefits to materialise, Nigeria and its partners must first overcome the project’s longstanding financing, technical, security and political hurdles.

After almost a decade of agreements and shifting deadlines, the biggest question now is no longer whether the pipeline has strategic potential, but when the billions of dollars required to build it will finally be committed and construction will begin.