The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, yesterday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Morocco and the national oil companies of five West African countries on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project.
A statement by the NNPC’s spokesperson, Garba Deen Muhammad, who said the signing ceremony took place in Rabat, Morocco, listed the countries to include Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.
The statement said the MoU was signed by the NNPC Ltd, the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines of Morocco (ONHYM), and the national oil companies and commercial entities of the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.
The MoU is said to represent a significant step in fulfilling the federal government’s drive towards harnessing Nigeria’s abundant gas resources through the NMGP.
Speaking after signing the MoU, the Group Chief Executive Officer (GCEO), Mele Kyari, was quoted to have said that Africa stands to benefit immensely from the execution of the project, which extends beyond the supply of gas to energise the countries along the route.
“Other benefits include the creation of wealth and improvement in the standard of living of our citizenry, increased cooperation between our countries while mitigating against desertification and other benefits to be derived from reduction in carbon emission,” he said.
Describing natural gas as a critical fuel in the transition towards net-zero, the GCEO stressed that NNPC is well positioned to advance the NMGP project.
This, he said, will be by leveraging its experience and technical capabilities, ranging from gas production, processing, transmission and marketing as well as its vast experience in executing major gas infrastructure projects in Nigeria.
Other benefits include the creation of wealth and improvement in the standard of living of our citizenry, increased cooperation between our countries while mitigating against desertification and other benefits to be derived from reduction in carbon emission.
Kyari said: “NNPC Ltd will facilitate the continuous supply of gas and provide other enablers such as the required land for the first compressor station to be deployed in Nigeria, which is among the 13 stations earmarked along the pipeline route.”
He added that “From inception of the project to this stage, concerted efforts have been made by the governments of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Morocco, which led to the very commendable achievements recorded thus far.
He recalled that on September 15, NNPC Limited and ONHYM signed an MoU with the ECOWAS Commission in Morocco, which came a month after NNPC signed additional MoUs with Petrosen of Senegal and SMH of Mauritania.
Also in attendance at the MoU signing were the General Director, Morocco’s National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines, Dr. Amina Benkhadra; Managing Director, Gambia National Petroleum Corporation, Baboucarr Njie; and General Director, PETROGUIN, Guinea Bissau, Celedonio Placido Viera.
Others were the Director-General, National Company of Oil, Guinea, Amadou Doumbouya; Director-General, Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone, Foday Mansaray II; and Chief Executive Officer, Ghana National Gas Company, Dr. Ben Asante.
The NMGP project is a 5,600 kilometres gas pipeline project traversing 13 African countries — Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco.
Upon completion, the project will supply about three billion standard cubic feet of gas per day from Nigeria to Morocco and subsequently to Europe.
