The proposed $25 billion African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) has moved a step closer to reality after leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) for the project during the ECOWAS Summit in Freetown, Sierra Leone.
The agreement provides the sovereign backing needed to advance the landmark energy project, which will connect Nigeria’s vast natural gas reserves to markets across West Africa, the Sahel, Morocco, and Europe.
According to a statement by the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.), the nearly 6,900-kilometre pipeline is being jointly developed with Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) and is designed to transport 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.
The project is expected to strengthen energy access, boost electricity generation, accelerate industrialisation, and deepen regional economic integration by linking African energy markets with the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, creating a strategic export route to Europe.
NNPC said the agreement implements approvals granted at the 66th ECOWAS Summit in Abuja in 2024 and builds on the 2022 Memorandum of Understanding signed by Nigeria and Morocco. The remaining step in the intergovernmental framework is the endorsement of the agreement by Morocco and Mauritania.
Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Ltd., Bashir Bayo Ojulari, described the signing as a major milestone, saying it provides the sovereign foundation needed to move the project from planning to implementation.
The pipeline is expected to run through 13 Atlantic coastal countries, with connections to landlocked Sahel nations, unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential while promoting regional development and long-term energy security.
