The Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited has signed five memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with national oil companies and relevant entities from five African countries on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project.
The five national oil companies and the entities involved are from The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.
The signing ceremony, which took place in Morocco, was attended by the Group Managing Director of NNPC Ltd, Mele Kyari; Dr. Amina Benkhadra, Director General of the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines; Mr. Baboucarr Njie, Managing Director of the Gambia National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), The Gambia; and Celedonio Placido Viera, Managing Director of Petroguin, Guinea-Bissau.
Also present were Mr Amadou Doumbouya, Director General of the Société Nationale des Pétroles (SONAP), Guinea; Mr Foday BL Mansaray II, Director General of the Petroleum Directorate of Sierra Leone (PDSL) and Dr Ben KD Asante, Managing Director of the Ghana National Gas Company.
Speaking at the event, Kyari commended NNPC's partners, ONHYM, who have worked diligently with NNPC Limited over the years to bring the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project to light.
Kyari said it was heartening to see the steady growth of the project, especially with the inclusion of NNPC counterparts and key institutions from other African countries, through the execution of relevant MoUs.
He recalled that on September 15, 2022, NNPC Limited and ONHYM signed a memorandum of understanding with the ECOWAS Commission in Morocco, adding that this event came a month after NNPC signed additional memoranda of understanding with Petrosen of Senegal and SMH of Mauritania.
He said: "Today we will achieve another feat by signing five memoranda of understanding with the national oil companies and relevant entities of The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Bissau and Sierra Leone.
"From the inception of the project to this point, concerted efforts have been made by the governments of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Morocco, which have resulted in the very commendable achievements recorded so far.
« Alors que la vision stratégique de nos grands dirigeants prend de l’ampleur, je voudrais exprimer notre gratitude au roi Mohammed VI du Maroc et au président Muhammadu Buhari du Nigeria pour avoir confié à NNPC Limited ce projet stratégique. »
The NNPC boss further stated that the African continent would benefit immensely from the execution of the project, which goes beyond the supply of gas to boost the countries along the route.