Nigeria, 2 Others Sign Deals On Gas Pipeline To Europe
Algeria, Nigeria, and Niger signed new contracts on Tuesday to accelerate the development of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP), the Algerian press agency APS reported.
Originally announced in 2009, the TSGP is set to transport billions of cubic meters of natural gas across 4,128 kilometers (2,565 miles), starting from Nigeria in West Africa, passing through Niger, and reaching Algeria. Once in Algeria, the gas could either be pumped through the Transmed pipeline under the Mediterranean to Italy or converted into liquefied natural gas (LNG) for export.
During a ministerial meeting in Algiers, officials from the three nations signed agreements addressing updates to the project’s feasibility study, as well as non-disclosure agreements among their state energy companies.
The feasibility update will lay out the “required means for accelerating the development of this major project in a timely manner and at competitive costs”, Algerian Energy Minister Mohamed Arkab said.
No update was given for the pipeline’s cost, which was estimated at launch at $10 billion.
The project has been given new urgency by a surge in gas demand worldwide and soaring prices sparked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.