The President of the Republic, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, received last Thursday in Algiers, the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and the Nigerien Minister of Energy and Renewable Energies, Mahamane Sani Mahamadou.
The hearing took place at the headquarters of the Presidency of the Republic, in the presence of the Chief of Staff at the Presidency of the Republic, Abdelaziz Khellaf, and the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab. In a statement at the end of the hearing, the Minister of Niger reiterated President Mohamed Bazoum’s “personal commitment” to “carry out” this project which is “of capital importance for our three countries (Algeria, Niger, Nigeria)”. He also noted that his meeting with President Tebboune was an opportunity to give him an account of the exchanges he had with his counterparts in Algeria and Nigeria.
“This is the third time that we meet after the meeting in Niamey in February and that of Abuja in June, and we are very optimistic”, he underlined. In this regard, he said that “the work of the task force which was set up during the Abuja meeting is progressing very well”, adding that he had received “encouragement from President Tebboune”. For his part, the Nigerian Minister of Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, reiterated his country’s desire to work for the realization as soon as possible of the trans-Saharan gas pipeline project to link the gas fields of Nigeria, via Niger, to the Algerian network.
“We are making sure that this project moves forward quickly because it will resolve issues related to energy security,” said the Nigerian minister after the hearing. While recalling that the realization of this project, launched in 2009, took “a lot of time”, the Nigerian minister assured that his country “has already started the construction of this pipeline on its territory”.
He said, in this regard, that Algeria has, for its part, “started several works in this direction”, welcoming Niger’s adherence to this project. “Niger joins our efforts” for the realization of this project, he said.
Signing of a memorandum of understanding
The work of the 3rd Algeria-Niger-Nigeria tripartite ministerial meeting, held last Thursday in Algiers, on the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline Project (TSGP) was sanctioned by the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the three parties.
The memorandum of understanding, a new step towards the realization of the project, was co-signed by the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, and the Nigerian Minister of Energy and Renewable Energies, Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, in the presence of the CEO of the Sonatrach group, Toufik Hakkar.
In a statement to the press at the end of the signing of the memorandum of understanding at the Abdellatif-Rahal International Conference Center (Algiers), Arkab indicated that “the signed document aims to move forward in the realization of the gas pipeline project trans-Saharan”. This implies continuing the implementation of all the programs drawn up for the realization of the project, in particular the preparation of the studies and the various aspects related to the realization, he said, adding that “the three countries have agreed to complete the project in a short time.
“The meeting in Algiers is of great importance and relates to a strategic project”, he specified, recalling that it “comes after two previous meetings held in Niamey and Abuja, where several decisions were taken, in particular, the establishment of a technical team and a high-level control commission, responsible for the development and updating of all technical and financial studies, as well as feasibility studies relating to the realization of this project “.
A route of more than 4,000 km
Concerning the Algiers meeting, Arkab indicated that the three parties had examined, on Thursday, the detailed report of the technical committee and the monitoring committee, before the signing of the memorandum of understanding. For his part, the Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, declared that the meeting in Algiers “is intended as an attestation of the commitment of Algeria, Niger, and Nigeria to materialize this project”, adding that “the signing of the memorandum of understanding denotes the will of African countries to carry out joint action for the realization of megaprojects”.
“We met last June in Niamey then in Abuja and today in Algiers, where we signed a memorandum of understanding to work together to make this project a reality,” Sylva continued.
Speaking on the occasion, the Nigerien Minister of Energy and Renewable Energies, Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, indicated that after three meetings between the three countries, “we are very optimistic about the progress of the project”, in particular after the constitution of the technical committee in charge of the development of the feasibility studies related to the TSGP. Sani Mahamadou considered that his country’s cooperation with Algeria and Nigeria testifies to the ability of African countries to cooperate to carry out projects in favor of the African continent. The TSGP is a gas transmission megaproject linking the three countries on a route exceeding 4,000 km.
