The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) is organizing a regional workshop from 8 to 11 October in Lagos, Nigeria, to review and adopt the Host Government Agreement (HGA) for the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
In July, high-level discussions took place in Rabat, bringing together officials from 12 West African countries, ECOWAS representatives, and Moroccan government agencies to advance the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
To this end, a workshop for the evaluation and adoption of the host government agreement was held in partnership with the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), around representatives of the 13 countries concerned, as well as experts from ministries and national oil companies. This gathering comes after several rounds of negotiations on the provisions of the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) and the Host Government Agreement (HGA), which took place in Rabat, Marrakech, and Abidjan. The main objective of this workshop is to finalize the draft HGA, which will be signed between each partner State and the company in charge of developing the gas pipeline.
In a statement, a representative of ONHYM stressed that the participation of experts and representatives from all the countries concerned demonstrates their commitment to carrying out this strategic project. ” This pioneering project, a symbol of South-South cooperation, will play a major role in the economic and social development of the region, particularly by stimulating various industries,” he added.
Since its launch in 2016, the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project has been progressing steadily. Amina Benkhadra, Director General of ONHYM, stated in August that the progress of the project was “ extremely favorable”, thanks to the involvement and collaboration of all participating countries. This statement was made during a regional workshop in Abidjan, dedicated to the review and validation of intergovernmental agreements relating to the project.
The pipeline, which will stretch about 6,000 kilometers and have a capacity to transport 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year, aims to strengthen Africa’s energy infrastructure. It will enable the export of Nigerian natural gas to Europe while promoting access to energy in West Africa, thus contributing to more inclusive economic and social development, as well as better regional integration.
This project is also expected to strengthen political, economic, and social stability in the region and improve energy security, both on the African continent and between Africa and Europe.
