Despite assurances that the 614 km (384 miles) Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline would begin functioning in the first quarter of this year, the Federal Government was unable to complete it.
According to Mele Kyari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the pipeline, whose construction started in June 2020, will eventually produce 3.6 gigawatts of electricity and serve gas-based industries along its route.
Before the President departs, we’ll put gas on this line. We are going to put gas on this line by the first quarter of 2023. This project will result in the stabilization of power and the growth of industries, Kyari told reporters last year.
The AKK pipeline travels through Kaduna on its way from Ajaokuta to Kano in the nation’s north.
The likelihood of completing the project “anytime soon” is unclear, according to sources familiar with the situation.
When contacted about the pipeline projects, the NNPCL’s external communications division remained silent.
A few gas pipeline projects, however, are now on hold because of internal or inter-Economic of West African States (ECOWAS) conflicts.
Political unrest in the Republic of Niger is impeding the construction of the $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline and the $13 billion 4,000 km Trans-Sahara gas pipeline.
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority estimates that Nigeria has 209 trillion cubic feet of gas reserves.
When finished, the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline would transport gas from Nigeria to Europe.
Despite how bright the project’s prospects are for Nigeria and Europe, delivery is now dubious, according to analysts, because of the recent upheaval in Niger.
According to Efem Nkam Ubi, an associate professor at the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, “it is important that the countries that are involved in the pipeline project try to look at ways to remedy the Niger crisis diplomatically and, much more importantly, through dialogue and not military solutions.”
Beatrice Bianchi, a political analyst and Sahel specialist at the Med-Or Foundation, an Italian think tank, claimed that the pipeline project aimed to unite continents.
However, she continued, “it has always been hampered by setbacks, delays, and security worries brought on by Tuareg rebellions, as well as issues in both Niger and Nigeria.
The $25 billion Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project encounters difficulties as well because the focus is now on finding a solution to the local situation.
The project’s signatories were Nigeria, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Benin Republic, Republic of Guinea, Togo, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania. It covered 5,600 kilometers.
The project was conceived during King Mohammed VI of Morocco’s visit to Nigeria in December 2016. It is an initiative of the Federal Government and the Kingdom of Morocco.
The goal is to monetize Nigeria’s roughly 206 trillion cubic feet of natural gas resources in order to increase the country’s revenue, diversify its gas export routes, and stop gas flaring.
Additionally, the about 7,000 km line will start on Brass Island in Nigeria, end in the north of Morocco, and then be connected to the already-existing Maghreb European Pipeline to help send gas to Morocco, 13 other African nations, and Europe.
