Algeria, Nigeria and Niger have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a $13 billion Trans-Saharan gas pipeline that will cross three African countries in the Sahara Desert.

The MoU was signed in Algiers by Mohamed Arkab, Minister of Energy and Mines of Algeria, Timipre Sylva, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources of Nigeria, and Mahamane Sani Mahamadou, Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy of Niger.

The onshore pipeline is expected to be more than 4,000 kilometers long and is designed to deliver up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas to Europe annually. The MoU follows an agreement reached by the three African countries in June 2022 to revive the gas pipeline project, which has been under discussion for nearly 40 years.

In 2009, Nigeria, Niger and Algeria signed an agreement to build the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project, which is scheduled to start production in 2015. However, due to various reasons such as security issues, the project has not been implemented so far. In June, Niger's oil ministry said the three African countries had formed a working group for the pipeline project and appointed an entity to update the feasibility study. Keywords: engineering news, overseas news

The proposed pipeline would take natural gas from Nigeria, travel north through Niger and further into Algeria. The plan starts with Wari in Nigeria and ends with Hassi Ramel in Algeria. From there, it will connect to existing pipelines to Europe. The project's revival comes as the European Union grapples with gas supplies and finds alternative sources after Russia's military campaign in Ukraine.Editor/XingWentao