Sierra Leone is set to benefit from a 6,000 kilometers gas pipeline worth over twenty-five million US Dollars which when completed will allow the country to enjoy from gas supplies at cheaper cost. This project comes at a time when their global deficiency in the supply of oil and gas especially to African nations due to the ongoing armed conflict between Russia and Ukraine which has left even western nations handicapped for want of much-needed petroleum products.
Against this background, the Director General of PDSL Foday B.L Mansaray and a senior management team made up of Director of Finance Zainu Deen Karim and Senior Legal Counsel Michella Eddinia Swallow and H.E Atumani Dainkeh, Sierra Leone’s Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco on Monday 5 December 2022 in Rabat Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding on the gas pipeline project linking Nigeria to Morocco, which will supply gas to West Africa and Europe.
The memorandum on the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project (NMGP) was signed by the group CEO of the National Nigerian Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC), Mr. Mele Kyari, the Director General of Moroccan Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), Madam Amina Benkhadra and the Director General of PDSL, Mr. Foday Mansaray.
The MoU signed “confirms the commitment of the Republic of Sierra Leone and all the countries involved to contribute to the feasibility of this important project”.
The $25 billion, 6,000 km Nigeria-Morocco project will cross Sierra Leone and 12 other African countries along the Atlantic coast and supply the landlocked states of Niger, Burkina Faso and Mali.
It is expected to be the conduit for more than 5,000 billion cubic metres of natural gas from Nigeria to Morocco, and supplying the countries who are signatories to the MOU en route.
Subsequently, it will be connected directly to the Maghreb Europe Gas Pipeline (GME) and the European gas network.
The signing of the NMGP memorandum will create access to affordable gas, job opportunities and significant economic growth for Sierra Leone.
In his remarks, the Director General of PDSL welcomed the project and reaffirms His Excellency the President of Sierra Leone Dr. Julius Maada Bio’s commitment to the oil and gas sector and His Excellency’s support for the project.
