Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire, Guinea, and Benin, have signed inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Nigeria and Morocco to participate in the flagship gas pipeline project stretching from Nigeria to Morocco, North African Post reported on Sunday, June 18, 2023.

According to the report, the signing took place at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) headquarters in Lagos, Nigeria, on the sidelines of the steering committee for the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project and witnessed by the representatives from ECOWAS and others involved parties.

The four newly signed partner states bring the number of participating countries to 11, marking a significant addition to the project after ECOWAS, Mauritania, Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Gambia, and Ghana joined last year.

Jointly announced in 2016 by the former President of Nigeria, Muhammadu Buhari, and King Mohammed VI of Morocco at a meeting in Abuja, the pipeline will span over 7,000 kilometers along the West African coast, transporting about 3 billion cubic feet of gas daily to Morocco, and Europe by extension.

"This is a project for peace, for African economic integration, and for co-development: a project for the present and future generations," the King said during the project's announcement in Abuja, Nigeria, underscoring the utmost significance of the project.

With the new signings, the pipeline will originate in Nigeria and run through the territories of Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d'Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Gambia, Senegal, and Mauritania before terminating in Morocco, from where it could be extended to supply gas to Europe.

When completed, the project is expected to contribute enormously to African countries' social and economic development by ensuring energy security and enhancing the development of Africa's infrastructure.

The project is also expected to provide a new alternative route for gas exports to Europe.