Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline

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Trans-Sahara Gas Pipeline, also known as Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline and in Arabic as خط أنابيب الغاز العابر للصحراء ، الأنبوب العابر للبحر الأبيض المتوسط ،خط إنريكو ماتاي, is a proposed natural gas pipeline. In the GEM database, it is tracked independently from the Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline, though some news reporting considers the Nigeria infrastructure to be part of the larger Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project.

Location

As of the MoU signing in 2022, the pipeline is proposed to run from Kano, Nigeria to Hassi R'Mel, Algeria.

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Project details

• Operator:
• Owner: Sonatrach; Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC); Niger Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies
• Parent Company: Sonatrach; NNPC, Niger Ministry of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies
• Capacity: 30 billion cubic meters per year
• Length: 4,128 km
  • 1,037 km in Nigeria
  • 841 km in Niger
  • 2,310 km Algeria
• Diameter: 48, 56 in
• Cost: US$13 billion
• Status: Proposed
• Start year:
  • Originally 2015
• Financing: As of July 2022, Nigeria's Secretary of State notes financing would come from the European Union
• Associated infrastructure:

Route

In the revised proposal, the pipeline would run from Kano, Nigeria, through Niger, to Hassi R'Mel, Algeria. In Kano it would connect with the Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline, and in Hassi R'Mel it would connect with a large regional network of pipelines, including the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline and the Medgaz Gas Pipeline. In June 2022, it was reported that the pipeline would start in Warri, Nigeria, and end in Hassi R’Mel, Algeria, where it would connect to existing pipelines leading to Europe.

Technical features

The annual capacity of the pipeline would be up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It would have a diameter of 48–56 in (1220 mm to 1420 mm). The pipeline was originally expected to be operational by 2015. Investment in the pipeline would be around US$10 billion and for gas gathering centers around $3 billion.

Operator

The pipeline was to be built and operated by the partnership between the NNPC and Sonatrach. The company would include also the Republic of Niger. Initially NNPC and Sonatrach would own 90% of shares, while Niger would own 10%.

Russian gas company Gazprom has anegotiated with Nigeria about its possible participation in the project. Also, Indian company GAIL, France's TotalEnergies, Italy's Eni SpA, and Shell have expressed interest in participating in the project. According to the Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil, "only partners that can bring something to the project, not just money, should be there." The energy ministers of Algeria and Nigeria said that "if things go well, there will be no need to bring international oil companies into the project" and "if the need for partnership in the project arises, not every partner will be welcome on board on the project."

Background

Initial planning and project shelving

The Trans-Saharan Pipeline was first proposed in the 1970s. On 14 January 2002, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Algerian national oil and gas company Sonatrach signed a Memorandum of Understanding for preparations of the project. In June 2005, NNPC and Sonatrach signed a contract with Penspen Limited for a feasibility study of the project. The study was completed in September 2006, and it found the pipeline to be technically and economically feasible and reliable.

On 20 February 2009, NNPC and Sonatrach agreed to proceed with the draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between three governments and the joint venture agreement. The intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline was signed by energy ministers of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria on 3 July 2009 in Abuja.

There were no development updates for a number of years after the 2009 meeting, though safety concerns about the operations of such a pipeline were heightened after the In Amenas hostage crisis of 2013.

Project revival

In 2019–2020, the pipeline began to be mentioned again in planning documents. With the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano leg of the Trans Nigeria Gas Pipeline moving into advanced development, NNPC stated that the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline would be built to continue the Trans Nigeria pipeline on from Kano to Algeria. The pipeline was listed at 4400 km in length.

In February 2022, Niger, Algeria and Nigeria signed an agreement to restart development of the project with the aim of supplying European markets via pipeline connections in Algeria. At a meeting in Abuja, March 25, 2022, minister of state for petroleum resources, Timipre Sylva, told EU diplomats that Nigeria was ready to become an alternative gas supplier to the EU via the Trans-Saharan Pipeline and urged greater investment in Nigeria's gas sector from European oil and gas majors.

In June 2022, Algeria, Niger and Nigeria held talks on the revival of the decades-old project to pipe gas across the Sahara, a potential opportunity for Europe to diversify its gas sources as Russia’s war in Ukraine continues.

On 28 July 2022, Algeria, Niger, and Nigeria signed a second MoU to build the pipeline, according to Algeria's energy secretary at the time, Mohamed Arkab. Financing was expected to come from the European Union.

In October 2024, Algerian and Nigerian energy officials met to revitalize plans for the pipeline. According to Pipeline Technology Journal, the meeting "included representatives from the state oil companies Sonatrach (Algeria), Sonidep (Niger), and Sonelgaz (Niger), as well as oil and gas regulatory agencies."

Rival pipeline

In May 2017 an agreement was signed between Morocco and Nigeria to build the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline, which would carry natural gas from Nigeria through 11 West African countries, up to Morocco and Spain. Following the agreement Algeria's former Interior Minister and ex-Ambassador Abderrahmane Meziane Cherif declared that the Atlantic Pipeline Project had "buried the plan to achieve the Trans-Saharan Gas Project."

Opposition

The pipeline is opposed by the Nigerian militant group Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta. A spokesman for the group warned that until issues regarding the exploitation of the Niger Delta and its people have been resolved, "any money put into the project will go down the drain."

Articles and resources

External articles

Wikipedia also has an article on Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (Trans-Saharan gas pipeline. This article may use content from the Wikipedia article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License].