A report by the Spanish economic news platform, “El Economista,” has stated that the Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline project is ahead of its Algerian competitor. The report attributes this to the geopolitical and security challenges in the Sahel region. The Spanish platform revealed that Madrid’s support for the Moroccan position in the Moroccan Sahara contributes to facilitating the construction of the gas pipeline. It is scheduled to pass through the coasts of the southern provinces of the Kingdom towards Spain and Europe.
The report goes on to say that the instability in the Sahel region of Africa prompted Nigeria to invest in the gas pipeline linking with Morocco. This investment responds to security requirements by passing under water and has resulted in other investments from international economic actors such as OPEC.
For years, Nigeria has been exploiting the Moroccan-Algerian competition to transport gas to Europe. But the security challenges in the Sahel put the gas line with Algeria at a weak point.
Italy finds itself in a comfortable position in its energy partnership with Algeria. After confirming the rise in shares of the Moroccan-Nigerian gas pipeline project, and the profit this represents for Spanish interests, Rome will continue its goals of benefiting from Algerian energy.
Reducing Europe’s energy dependency on Russia through Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline project
The project to transfer energy from Africa to Europe, bypassing the energy dependency of the countries of the Old Continent to Russia, constitutes a major “point of competition” between Morocco and Algeria. Both countries seek to transfer natural gas to Europe through pipeline projects with Nigeria.
Last month, the Nigerian Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) called for investment in the Abuja-Rabat gas pipeline project, and to benefit from the economic opportunities it offers.
A meeting was held in Marrakesh between the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Minerals and representatives of all the countries through which the Nigerian-Moroccan gas pipeline will pass, in addition to a representative of the “ECOWAS” group, to discuss the progress made in this project.