Morocco and Nigeria will in 2025 take a final decision on the execution of a mega pipeline project that will ship gas to Europe after all relevant studies are completed, according to a the Moroccan government.

A final investment decision (FID) on the $25 billion project had been scheduled in 2023 but was postponed to 2025 after studies found that there is a need to modify the pipelines path for technical and environment reasons, Morocco’s National Office for Hydrocarbons and Minerals said in a statement published by the Arabic language Hespress newspaper on Wednesday.

“Land survey studies launched recently with the aim of minimising environmental and social effects of the project could point to a slight revision of the pipeline path,” it said.

“The postponement of the investment decision until 2025 is normal in such mega projects…it will be taken after all technical, financial, commercial and political studies concerning the project are completed.”

The pipeline project, part of an agreement signed by Morocco and Nigeria in 2017, will transport nearly 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas per year to Morocco and then to Europe through a pipeline that will stretch 5,300km from Nigeria to Dhakia in Morocco and 1,700 km from Dhakia to Northern Morocco.

The pipeline will traverse several African countries, including the Republic of Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea

-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and terminate in Morocco with a spur to Spain.

(Writing by Nadim Kawach; Editing by Anoop Menon)

(anoop.menon@lseg.com)

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