29 July 2022; MEMO: Algerian authorities announced, on Thursday, the signing of a new Memorandum of Understanding with Niger and Nigeria to start implementing the trans-Saharan gas pipeline project, according to the official Algerian television, after a tripartite meeting in Algiers.
The officials who signed the Memorandum of Understanding are the Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, on behalf of the Algerian side; the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, who represents Nigeria and the Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies, Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, who represents Niger, in the presence of the CEO government Sonatrach Petroleum Corporation, Toufik Hakkar.
After the signing, Arkab said that the signed Memorandum of Understanding "expresses the will of the three parties to embody this ambitious and major project."
"This memorandum is considered a strong signal for the world about commencement to embody this important project," Arkab added.
READ: Algeria meets with Nigeria and Niger for trans-Sahara gas pipeline project
The talks about the Nigeria-Algeria gas pipeline project began on the African level more than 20 years ago, where it will accompany a project of the same name, which is the Trans-Sahara Highway that starts from Algiers to Lagos, Nigeria, at a distance of 4,600 kilometres.
The Algerian Sonatrach Petroleum Corporation signed the first Memorandum of Understanding to implement the project with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation in 2002, to establish a pipeline from gas fields in southern Nigeria, passing through Niger to Algeria.
The project's initial cost, upon signing the Memorandum of Understanding between Algeria and Nigeria, was estimated at $13 billion to transport 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas annually.
Interest in this huge project has been renewed after the global energy crisis caused by the war in Ukraine and Europe's endeavours to reduce its dependence on Russian gas.
The Trans-Saharan pipeline passes through the territory of Nigeria, starting from the gas fields of the Niger Delta in the south of the country, at a distance of 1,040 km until reaching the Niger border in the north.
The gas pipeline continues its path through the territory of Niger, at a distance of 841 kilometres, to reach the Algerian border in the Guezzam governorate in the far south of the country.
