Atlantic Africa Gas Pipeline Opens Financing Talks With U. S. EXIM and World Bank
Morocco has begun financing discussions with the U. S. Export-Import Bank and the World Bank for the $26 billion Atlantic Africa Gas Pipeline project. ECOWAS heads of state signed the project's intergovernmental agreement on July 19, providing the legal framework sought by international lenders. The 6,800-kilometer pipeline will cross 13 West. . .
Morocco has begun financing discussions with the U. S. Export-Import Bank and the World Bank for the $26 billion Atlantic Africa Gas Pipeline project. ECOWAS heads of state signed the project's intergovernmental agreement on July 19, providing the legal framework sought by international lenders. The 6,800-kilometer pipeline will cross 13 West African countries, with construction expected to begin in 2028 and first gas deliveries targeted for 2031. Financing for West Africa's largest infrastructure project has entered a new phase. Morocco has opened discussions with the Export-Import Bank of the United States (U. S. EXIM Bank) and the World Bank to help finance the $26 billion Atlantic Africa Gas Pipeline, Morocco's Ambassador to the United States, Youssef Amrani, confirmed to Bloomberg on July 25. The U. S. export credit agency acknowledged that preliminary discussions are underway. The financing talks come one week after the project reached a key institutional milestone required by international lenders. On July 19, heads of state of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) signed an intergovernmental agreement in Freetown that establishes the legal framework for the pipeline. The agreement transforms what began as a bilateral initiative between Morocco and Nigeria into a regional infrastructure program governed by a common legal framework. Pipeline will span 13 countries and be built in phasesMorocco's National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) are jointly developing the project. The pipeline will stretch 6,800 kilometers across 13 Atlantic coast countries. Developers aim to transport 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas annually, equivalent to approximately 3 billion cubic feet per day. The project will proceed in three construction phases. ONHYM Chief Executive Officer Amina Benkhadra told Reuters that developers will first build the section linking Morocco to gas fields in Mauritania and Senegal. They will then construct a southern section connecting Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Finally, they will connect Ghana to Nigeria's gas fields. As a result, gas from Nigeria, which held Africa's largest proven natural gas reserves of 210 trillion cubic feet in 2024, will enter the pipeline during the final phase. Developers expect construction to begin in 2028, while they target the first gas deliveries for 2031. Project aims to create a regional gas marketThe project's ambitions extend beyond exports. The pipeline seeks to connect fragmented national gas markets and create an integrated regional gas market across West Africa. The project also differs significantly from the existing West African Gas Pipeline, which has linked Nigeria, Benin, Togo and Ghana since 2010 but has remained relatively limited in scale and has experienced repeated supply disruptions. Benkhadra described the Atlantic Africa Gas Pipeline as a catalyst for expanding electricity access and accelerating industrial development across the region. ONHYM also argues that the project's multi-country structure strengthens its investment case. The agency said the pipeline's exposure to a single market or producer will remain limited because it spans 13 economies, thereby reducing risk for lenders. However, not all analysts share that assessment. Anne-Sophie Corbeau, a researcher at Columbia University's Center on Global Energy Policy, said the large number of participating countries could complicate project execution. She also questioned the commercial rationale for extending the pipeline to Europe as the European Union continues to phase out fossil fuels. European market remains part of business modelDespite those concerns, access to the European market remains an important component of the project's commercial model through a connection to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline. The Dutch Title Transfer Facility (TTF) natural gas benchmark traded above €62 per megawatt-hour on July 24, its highest level in four months. Higher European gas prices temporarily strengthen Morocco's commercial case as it seeks financing for the project. The project's next milestones include establishing the project company in Casablanca, setting up the pipeline's governing authority in Abuja and signing a separate agreement involving Morocco and Mauritania, which are not ECOWAS members. This article was initially published in French by Fiacre E. KakpoAdapted in English by Ange J. A de Berry Quenum