KANO, Nigeria 

The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project (NMGP) was officially launched Friday with the signing in Morocco of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two countries and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

A statement said the two countries and ECOWAS executed the MoU which is a significant step in fulfilling Nigeria’s drive toward harnessing the country’s abundant gas resources.

The 5,600-kilometer (3,480-mile) project will run across 13 African countries and provide gas from Nigeria to West African countries through Morocco and subsequently to Europe.

"Once completed, the project will supply about three billion standard cubic feet of gas per day (3bscfd) along the West African Coast from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal and Mauritania to Morocco,” it said.

Nigerian National Petroleum Cooperation Group (NNPC) CEO Mele Kyari described the signing as a very important milestone where key stakeholders came together to reaffirm their commitment to deliver on the project.

He expressed appreciation to Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari and King Mohammed VI of Morocco who both entrusted NNPC and the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mined (ONHYM) with the "strategic project.”

He said both countries stand to benefit from the project which extends beyond the supply of gas to energize countries along the route.

"Some of the benefits include the creation of wealth and improvement in the standard of living, integration of the economies within the region, mitigation against desertification and other benefits that will accrue as a result of the reduction in carbon emission," he said.

The NMGP is aimed at monetizing Nigeria's abundant natural gas resources to generate additional revenue for the country, diversify its gas export routes and eliminate gas flaring in the country.

The pipeline will originate from Brass Island in Nigeria and terminate in the north of Morocco, where it will be connected to the existing Maghreb European Pipeline that originates from Algeria, via Morocco, to Spain.