The Algerian authorities announced Thursday the signing of a new memorandum of understanding with Niger and Nigeria to start the implementation of the Trans-Saharan gas pipeline project.
The memorandum of understanding was signed on the Algerian side by Minister of Energy and Mines Mohamed Arkab, for Nigeria, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources Timimbri Silva, and for Niger, Minister of Petroleum, Energy and Renewable Energies Mahaman Sani Mahamadou, in the presence of "Tawfik Hakkar", CEO of the Algerian state-owned hydrocarbon company "Sonatrach" .
After the signing, Arkab said, "The memorandum of understanding expresses the will of the three parties to embody this ambitious and major project."
"This memorandum is a strong signal to the world about starting to materialize this project," he added.
He stressed that "the three countries will continue talks to implement the project as soon as possible."
The three countries had agreed last June to revive talks on the project among themselves, which represents a potential opportunity for Europe to diversify its gas sources.
The cost of the project is estimated at 13 billion dollars, and it may transport up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually to Europe.
The idea of the project was presented for the first time more than 40 years ago, and an agreement was signed between the three countries in 2009, but the project has not seen any progress since then.
Algeria exported 54 billion cubic meters of gas in 2021, mostly to Italy and Spain.
The Algerian hydrocarbon company "Sonatrach" signed the first memorandum of understanding to implement the project with the Nigerian state oil company in 2002, to build a pipeline from gas fields in southern Nigeria, through Niger to Algeria.
And renewed interest in this huge project in the wake of the global energy crisis due to the war in Ukraine and the efforts of Europe to reduce dependence on Russian gas.
The Trans-Saharan pipeline crosses the territory of Nigeria from the gas fields of the Niger Delta in the south of the country, at a distance of 1,040 km to the Niger border in the north.
The gas pipeline continues its course through the territory of Niger, at a distance of 841 km, and reaches the Algerian border in the state of Ain Gezam in the far south of the country.