State-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd (NNPC) is actively inviting investors for a planned $25-26 billion gas pipeline to Morocco and expects to start discussing a final investment decision (FID) on a separate line across the Sahara next year, CEO Bashir Bayo Ojulari said.
The ultimate destination of the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) and the $10-$13 billion Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) is the European market.
NMGP advances
During the on-stage interview, Ojulari said NNPC was engaging potential investors, including international energy partners such as the UAE’s ADNOC, following the signing of an agreement by countries along the Nigeria–Morocco pipeline route in September, Ojulari said at the ADIPEC conference in Abu Dhabi.
NMGP, also called African Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), is jointly led by NNPC and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM).
It is designed to transport up to 30 billion cubic metres (bcm)/year of Nigerian and West African natural gas to Morocco through 13 Atlantic coastal countries, with interconnections serving landlocked Sahel nations.
Ojulari said NNPC was working to structure investment in the project, noting that Nigeria hopes the project will help unlock the value of nearly 20 Trillion standard cubic feet (Tscf) of gas in deep waters covered oil Production Sharing Contracts (PSC) with ExxonMobil, Shell and Total.
“The conversations we’re having now is how to connect that gas to supply the region as well,” he said.
NNPC is also building infrastructure to link the coastal part of the country to more shallow-water and onshore gas reserves estimated to be 200 Tscf.
Nigeria is targeting to establish a credible baseline to sustain 8 Billion standard cubic feet (Bscf) per day by the end of 2026, and is targeting 10 Bscf/day by 2028 and 12 Bscf/day by 2030.
Ojulari clarified that the line will be built in phases and include the existing West African Gas Pipeline (WAGP), in which NNPC owns a 24.9 percent stake. WAGP currently runs offshore from Nigeria to Benin, Togo, and Ghana.
“We’re not starting fresh,” he said. “Our intention is to extend [WAGP] to Sierra Leone, monetise that, and extend to the next one. With that, we would be able to demonstrate performance and commitment, so there will be a lot more announcements next year on that project.”
The $25-26 billion AAGP will extend 6,800 kilometres (km), with 5,100-km offshore, passing through all the 13 ECOWAS coastal countries along the Atlantic Ocean, as well as Mauritania and the three landlocked countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger).
In June 2026, NNPC said significant progress has already been achieved on the project, including completion of Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) studies, finalisation of route reconnaissance surveys, advancement of environmental and social studies, and establishment of key legal, regulatory, and commercial frameworks.
It said 15 bcm/year out of the 30 bcm would be supplied to Morocco, and thereon to Europe through the existing Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline that joins Morocco to Spain.
TSGP project update
Ojulari said Nigeria, Algeria and Niger have aligned on the development of the funding structure for the TGSP project, which will run from the end point of Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) gas pipeline in Nigeria’s Kano through Niger to Algeria.
Ojulari said the project is currently maturing and they expect “to have a line of sight on FID” sometime next year.
Algeria’s state-owned energy company Sonatrach is a partner in the 4,327-km project alongside Nigeria’s NNPC and Niger’s Nigerien Oil Products Company (SONIDEP).
The pipeline will extend 1,185 km through Nigeria, 720 km through Niger and 2,424 km through Algeria, according to a June 2026 report by Turkey’s Anadolu news agency.
Nearly half of the Algerian section comprises existing pipeline infrastructure, while the remaining 1,210-km stretch will run from the Niger border to Aoulef in Adrar province, where it will connect to the existing gas transmission network serving the Hassi R’Mel gas field.
Construction of the new section began in June 2026.
The project would enable the transport of more than 20 bcm/year of gas from Nigeria and Algeria to European markets.
No firm date for IPO
NNPC has not set a timeline for an initial public offering (IPO) and will give one only after closing gaps identified in a business assessment, Ojulari said.
“We don’t have a specific timeline yet – we have completed the business assessment – we are using the same advisors that did the IPO for Aramco,” he disclosed.
The NNPC chief said the board and shareholders are strongly committed to becoming IPO-ready.
Ojulari said the baseline assessment, submitted in September, told the company where it stands. NNPC is now working on filling gaps over the next year, including governance and the broader corporate structure.
“By the time they finish that, we’ll be in a better position to say, this is the time,” he said.
He said the biggest early benefit of this ongoing exercise would be structural consolidation, in operational efficiency and governance, which he said would put NNPC on the global stage.
The company published audited accounts last year, held its first earnings call, and repeated both this year as it builds toward transparency.
Ojulari told Reuters on 3 November that NNPC is considering selling 5 to 10 percent of its equity in an IPO focused mainly on Nigeria’s domestic market, with a possible secondary listing in London or New York.
In September 2026, NNPC announced audited results for the year ended 31 December 2025. Profit After Tax rose (PAT) 33 percent to 7.2 trillion Nigerian nairas ($5.34 billion) from NGN5.4 trillion ($4.00 billion) in 2024, while revenue stood at NGN34.5 trillion ($25.58 billion). Revenue declined 24 percent, principally reflecting lower crude oil prices and reduced white product volumes following market deregulation in 2024.
EBITDA rose 22 percent to NGN18.0 trillion ($13.35 billion); Earnings Per Share increased 32 percent to NGN35.9 ($0.03); operating cash flow grew 16 percent to NGN12.8 trillion ($9.49 billion); Return on Equity improved by 200 basis points to 16 percent; and the declared dividend increased 35 percent to NGN5.8 trillion ($4.30 billion).
Source: zawya.com