ILF Consulting Engineers and Doris Group have won project management consultancy (PMC) work on the proposed Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP).
ILF said the companies would provide PMC work on the front-end engineering and design (FEED) second phase.
This covers the on- and offshore pipeline and compressor station engineering, engineering surveys, the environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA), land acquisition studies and project implementation framework.
Worley won the FEED work for the ambitious NMGP project in April this year.
The pipeline plan would involve 13 countries, delivering Nigerian gas to North Africa. It could potentially go on, into Spain and Europe. Nigerian National Petroleum Corp. (NNPC) and Morocco’s Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) are backing the project.
ILF said its work would also consider using renewable energy to power the pipeline and reduce its carbon footprint.
ILF manager Carles Giro said the company had taken part in the feasibility phase and the first FEED phase.
“The award of Phase II to us demonstrates the confidence that our long-term clients ONHYM and NNPC have in our project management excellence and reliability in delivering world class projects,” Giro said.
The pipeline would be the longest offshore link in the world, at over 6,000 km. It would have a diameter of 48 inches offshore, and 56 inches onshore. The NMGP would have capacity to carry 30 billion cubic metres per year.
The aim is to reach final investment decision (FID) in 2023.
Making waves
The OPEC Fund has provided some financial support for the studies on the project. The organisation said it was working to support Morocco’s ambitions to become a low-carbon economy. The fund was specifically co-financing survey works in Senegal, Mauritania and Morocco, it said.
It co-financed this work with the Nigerian and Moroccan governments, in addition to the Islamic Development Bank (ISDB).
The NMGP project is hugely ambitious. However, with Europe’s demand for alternative sources of gas becoming more and more important, the timing looks positive.