The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited says it will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the gas pipeline project with the Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco on Thursday.

The NNPC said the MoU, which would be signed in Rabat, Morocco, would help to drive the execution of the 7,000km Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.

It made the disclosure via a series of tweets on its verified Twitter handle on Wednesday.

The oil firm further stated that the NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Mele Kyari, paid a courtesy visit to the President of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr Omar Touray, in preparation for the signing of the agreement.

The NNPC stated: “In line with Federal Government’s mandate to drive the execution of the 7,000km Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline Project, the Group Chief Executive Officer, NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari, today (Wednesday) paid a courtesy call on the President, ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Omar Touray.

“The visit was in preparation for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the NNPC Limited, Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) of Morocco, and the ECOWAS, scheduled to hold on 15 September 2022 in Rabat, Morocco.

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“During the visit, the NNPC Limited and the ECOWAS Commission reaffirmed their commitment towards the project, which, when completed, will provide gas to the West African countries through to the Kingdom of Morocco and subsequently to Europe.”

The NNPC added that the firm and ONHYM would also sign two MoUs with Mauritania and Senegal.

It noted: “The NNPC Limited and ONHYM will also sign two MoUs with Société Mauritanienne des Hydrocarbures (SMH) of Mauritania and Petrosen of Senegal, both of whom are expected to participate in the project.

“Once completed, the project will supply about three billion standard cubic feet of gas along the West African Coast from Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania to Morocco.

“Other benefits of the NMGP Project include improving the living standards of people, integration of the economies within the Sub-region, and mitigating against desertification through sustainable and reliable gas supply,” the NNPC said.

The Star