West African leaders have backed an ambitious 6,800km pipeline that would carry natural gas across the region and onward to Europe. The $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline will run through 13 West African countries before joining the existing Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, which connects to Spain. Heads of state from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) approved the project at their summit in Sierra Leone.
Morocco first proposed the pipeline in 2016, but the plan has gathered momentum as Europe looks to broaden its natural gas supply options amid geopolitical disruptions to global energy markets caused by the Middle East crisis. Analysts describe the ECOWAS endorsement as one of the most significant political advances for the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline since its unveiling nearly a decade ago.
