The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline, a planned 6,000–6,900 km natural gas pipeline linking Nigeria to Morocco and Europe, entered a new phase of regional integration this week, officials said. The project aims to supply 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually to West African countries and Europe, enhancing energy connectivity across up to 16 nations along the Atlantic coast.
The project is designed to transport 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually, serving up to 16 countries along the Atlantic coast, according to project officials and Moroccan hydrocarbons agency ONHYM. This capacity aims to meet growing energy demand in West Africa and provide an alternative supply corridor for European markets.
The African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) is set to become one of the world’s longest offshore natural gas pipelines, stretching approximately 6,000 to 6,900 kilometers from Nigeria to Morocco and onward to Europe.
Officials confirmed that the AAGP recently entered a new phase of regional integration marked by significant institutional and contractual advances. Morocco’s ONHYM announced in April 2026 that an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) for the estimated US$25 billion pipeline is expected to be signed within the year, signaling formal political and legal commitment. The agency also disclosed the launch of a call for tenders in November 2024, moving the project from design and planning toward procurement and implementation stages. Project sources report that design phases are complete, with construction anticipated to begin in 2028 and first gas deliveries targeted between 2029 and 2031.
The pipeline will originate at Brass Island in Nigeria, running mainly offshore along the Atlantic coast to Dakhla in Western Sahara. From there, it will continue onshore through Morocco to connect with the existing Maghreb–Europe Gas Pipeline (GME), enabling gas flows to Spain and the broader European market. The route crosses or serves 13 to 16 countries, including Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco, with planned extensions to Sahel states such as Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger. Early phases focus on extending the West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP) from Takoradi in Ghana to San-Pédro in Côte d’Ivoire, and building a link between Kayar in Senegal and Morocco, according to project documentation.
West African leaders have endorsed the pipeline at the highest political levels, formally recognizing it as a regional priority. Nigerian and Moroccan governments have emphasized the project’s role in fostering economic integration by linking multiple national gas markets along a shared corridor. Analysts and officials describe the AAGP as a model of South–South cooperation that strengthens economic ties within Africa while addressing shared energy needs, according to reports from regional energy forums.
The pipeline is expected to enhance energy security for coastal West African states and the Alliance of Sahel States by diversifying supply sources and creating shared infrastructure. By integrating coastal and inland energy systems, the project aims to increase electricity access across West Africa, including landlocked countries in the Sahel region. Experts also highlight the pipeline’s potential to boost industrial growth and regional gas-based industries by providing more reliable, cross-border gas flows and encouraging local value-added production.
Connecting to the GME pipeline in northern Morocco, the AAGP will integrate West African gas supplies into existing European infrastructure. Project communications indicate that up to half of the pipeline’s capacity could serve European markets, offering an alternative or complement to Russian gas imports. This integration is seen as part of the broader Southern Gas Corridor strategy to diversify European energy sources. Analysts note that the corridor could amplify West Africa’s strategic role in global energy markets by linking Nigerian, Mauritanian, and Senegalese gas directly to North African and European networks.
Financially, the project’s estimated US$25–26 billion investment places it among Africa’s largest energy infrastructure undertakings. The pipeline is projected to serve roughly 400 million consumers across the corridor, materially altering West Africa’s energy landscape and market structure. The offshore segment alone is expected to extend about 5,600 kilometers between Nigeria and Dakhla, making it the longest offshore gas pipeline in the world and the second-longest pipeline overall.
As of the mid-2020s, the project remains in planning and early implementation stages, with key conceptual and technical design work largely completed. The November 2024 tender launch and anticipated 2026 intergovernmental agreement reflect a shift from studies to contractual and legal structuring, according to ONHYM and regional energy officials. Timelines set by project authorities project construction starting in 2028, with initial commissioning of the first phases expected between 2029 and 2031. Experts emphasize that the creation of shared infrastructure, common regulatory frameworks, and interlinked gas markets through the AAGP marks a tangible advance in regional economic and energy integration beyond earlier political declarations.
The pipeline’s origins trace back to early conceptual ideas from the 1980s, with formalization as a Nigeria–Morocco initiative occurring in December 2016 during King Mohammed VI’s visit to Nigeria. Since then, the project has gained sustained political support from West African governments and has evolved into a multi-phase plan spanning roughly 25 years. Early phases prioritize key coastal segments, while later stages will focus on central connections and extensions into the Sahel region, according to project records and expert analyses.
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