The Trans-Saharan gas pipeline (TSGP; also known as NIGAL pipeline and Trans-African gas pipeline) is a planned
natural gas
Natural gas (also called fossil gas or simply gas) is a naturally occurring mixture of gaseous hydrocarbons consisting primarily of methane in addition to various smaller amounts of other higher alkanes. Low levels of trace gases like carbo ...
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
's gas supplies.
History
The idea of the trans-Saharan pipeline was first proposed in the 1970s. On 14 January 2002, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Algerian national oil and gas company Sonatrach signed the Memorandum of Understanding for preparations of the project. In June 2005, NNPC and Sonatrach signed a contract with Penspen Limited for a feasibility study of the project. The feasibility study was completed in September 2006, and it found the pipeline to be technically and economically feasible and reliable.
On the meeting on 20 February 2009, NNPC and Sonatrach agreed to proceed with the draft Memorandum of Understanding between three governments and the joint venture agreement. The intergovernmental agreement on the pipeline was signed by energy ministers of Nigeria, Niger and Algeria on 3 July 2009 in Abuja.
Safety concerns about the operations have been heightened due to a terrorist insurgency in North Africa, culminating in incidents like the In Aménas hostage crisis of 2013. Nigeria, Niger and Algeria are among the least secure areas in the region because of various active terrorist movements that destabilise them.
On 28 July 2022, The Algerian, Nigerian and Nigerien Ministers of Energy signed a Memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the implementation of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project, co-signed by Algerian Minister of Energy and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, Nigerian Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva and Nigerien Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy, , at the end of the work of the third tripartite ministerial meeting held in Algiers.
Route
The pipeline will start in the Warri region in Nigeria and run north through
Niger
)
, official_languages =
, languages_type = National languagesHassi R'Mel in Algeria. In Hassi R'Mel the pipeline will connect to the existing Trans-Mediterranean, Maghreb–Europe, Medgaz and Galsi pipelines. These supply Europe from the gas transmission hubs at
El Kala
El Kala ( ar, القالة, Latin ''Thinisa in Numidia'') is a seaport of Algeria, in El Tarf Province, 56 miles (90 km) by rail east of Annaba and 10 miles (16 km) west of the Tunisian frontier. It is the centre of the Algerian and Tuni ...
Mediterranean coast
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the eas ...
. The length of the pipeline would be : in Nigeria, in Niger, and in Algeria.
Technical features
The annual capacity of the pipeline would be up to 30 billion cubic meters of natural gas. It would have a diameter of . The pipeline was originally expected to be operational by 2015. The original investment for the pipeline was expected to be around US$10 billion and for gas gathering centers around $3 billion.
In the year 2019 the project is still in the prospect phase
Operator
The pipeline is to be built and operated by the partnership between the NNPC and Sonatrach. The company would include also the Republic of Niger. Initially NNPC and Sonatrach would hold a total 90% of shares, while Niger would hold 10%.
Russian gas company Gazprom has negotiated with Nigeria about its possible participation in the project. Also Indian company GAIL, France's
Total S.A.
TotalEnergies SE is a French multinational integrated energy and petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven supermajor oil companies. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from crude oil and natural gas exploration and ...
Royal Dutch Shell
Shell plc is a British multinational oil and gas company headquartered in London, England. Shell is a public limited company with a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and secondary listings on Euronext Amsterdam and the New Yo ...
have expressed interest in participating in the project. According to the Algerian energy minister Chakib Khelil "only partners that can bring something to the project, not just money, should be there." Energy ministers of Algeria and Nigeria have said that "if things go well, there will be no need to bring international oil companies into the project" and "if the need for partnership in the project arises, not every partner will be welcome on board on the project."
Niger Delta
The Niger Delta is the delta of the Niger River sitting directly on the Gulf of Guinea on the Atlantic Ocean in Nigeria. It is located within nine coastal southern Nigerian states, which include: all six states from the South South geopolitic ...
and its people have been resolved, "any money put into the project will go down the drain."