DR ‹ › Morocco's state-run Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) is preparing to raise part of the $25 billion needed to finance the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday. The fundraising would mark ONHYM's first since its conversion into a public limited company in February, a move aimed at strengthening its ability to structure partnerships and mobilize diversified financing for large-scale projects in Morocco and abroad. The company did not disclose the size, timing, or type of the planned fundraising, the same source added. The flagship project, under development since 2018, involves a 6,900-kilometer (4,300-mile) pipeline combining onshore and offshore segments. It will link gas fields in Nigeria, Senegal, and Mauritania to 10 African countries, including Morocco, before connecting to the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline toward Spain. According to ONHYM, the project is expected to boost electrification and access to energy across the continent, while serving as «a structuring step for Euro-African energy security» at a time when Europe is seeking to diversify its gas supplies. Separately, Morocco's gas transport company OMCO recently indicated that a formal intergovernmental agreement and a final investment decision for the pipeline are expected later this year.
