*To export gas to European countries
OpeOluwani Akintayo
Lagos — The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, has said it plans to link the proposed Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline to the existing Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline.
In a statement by the Corporation’s Group Managing Director, Maikanti Baru, he said the aim is to export gas to European countries.
According to him, closure of refineries in some European Union countries will favour Nigeria in the long run because refining operations will move to countries with high demands for petroleum products.
Mr. Baru also disclosed that other factors that could strengthen the Nigerian oil and gas industry are the completion of the Dangote refinery, which he said would create competition in the refining sector.
In December 2016, King Mohammed VI of Morocco officially announced the construction of the 5,660km-long Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline.
In total, 13 countries will be involved: Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, The Gambia, Senegal, Mauritania, and Morocco.
