Page 4 - AfrOil Week 17 2022

AfrOil COMMENTARY AfrOil

Taking a look at the

NMGP FEED contract

A new contract award for Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline services raises questions
about the technical, financial and political obstacles facing competing projects

ON April 26, Worley, an Australian indus- (ESIA) and land acquisition studies (LAS).
trial engineering company, issued a statement Meanwhile, the statement said, other Wor-
WHAT: announcing that it had won a contract for main ley subsidiaries will support other aspects of
Worley has been awarded front-end engineering design services related to the contract, including administration, project
a FEED services contract a planned natural gas pipeline in Africa. delivery, initiatives related to promoting local
for the NMGP project. Specifically, it said it had agreed to provide electrification and energy self-sufficiency and
FEED Phase II services for the Nigeria-Morocco the climate-related goals such as carbon emis-
WHY: Gas Pipeline (NMGP), an offshore gas transport sions reduction, the use of renewable energy and
This scheme may run system running for more than 7,000 km past the sustainability.
up against a competing coasts of 13 African states. The network is slated This green slant may seem a bit ironic, given
project, the Trans-Sahara to terminate in Morocco, where it could connect that the contract puts fossil fuels front and cen-
Gas Pipeline (TSGP).
to the Gaz Maghreb-Europe (GME) pipeline to tre. (As the statement notes, NMGP is slated
Spain. to become “the longest offshore pipeline in the
WHAT NEXT: It explained that overall FEED services would world and the second-longest pipeline overall.”),
Pre-existing tensions
between Morocco and be managed by Intecsea, its offshore engineering but it is perhaps not surprising from a public
Algeria could put Nigeria consultancy arm based in The Hague, while the relations perspective. After all, Worley does
in the position of having company’s team in London would be responsi- make a point of having “sustainability” and “net
to choose between the ble for work related to the onshore FEED scope, zero” be among the first words that appear on
pipeline. the environmental and social impact assessment its web page.

P4 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 17 27•April•2022