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Two African megaprojects compete for space in a new global gas route, amid the reduction of European dependence on Russia and the challenges of financing, security, and energy transition.
Europe’s search for new gas routes has advanced with two African megaprojects that aim to connect Nigeria’s reserves to the European market.
This movement gained momentum after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, when the European Union accelerated measures to reduce energy dependence on Moscow and increased interest in corridors coming from North and West Africa.
Before the war, Russian gas had significant weight in European supply.
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According to the European Commission, Russia’s share in the European Union’s gas imports fell from 45% in 2021 to 12% in 2025, while the imported volume decreased from 152 billion to 36 billion cubic meters in the same period.
The European bloc also established the gradual elimination of Russian liquefied natural gas by the end of 2026 and pipeline gas by, at most, November 30, 2027.
This change opened space for African governments, state energy companies, and international investors to compete for alternative supply routes.
In this scenario, two projects draw attention: the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline, led by Nigeria, Niger, and Algeria, and the African Atlantic Pipeline, associated with Nigeria and Morocco.
Both have the potential to alter African gas logistics but still depend on financing, regional security, political agreements, and adaptation to energy transition goals.
Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline advances through the Sahara
The Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline entered a new phase on June 4, 2026, when Sonatrach, the Algerian state oil and gas company, announced the official start of construction on the Algerian section in Aoulef, in the province of Adrar.
The ceremony was attended by representatives from Algeria, Nigeria, and Niger, as well as the company’s management.
The project aims to connect Nigerian gas to the Hassi R’Mel center in Algeria, one of the country’s main distribution hubs.
From this structure, the fuel can be integrated into the Algerian transport network and existing export routes, with the possibility of being sent to international markets, including Europe.
According to Enerdata, the Trans-Saharan was designed to be 4,128 kilometers long and capable of transporting up to 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year from Nigeria, passing through Niger, to the Mediterranean coast of Algeria.
The development involves the Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Sonatrach, and the Nigerien Oil Products Company, known as Sonidep.
The schedule, however, does not progress uniformly among the countries involved.
While Algeria has started the stage in its territory, Niger reported that it intends to begin construction of its 720-kilometer section at the beginning of 2027, according to a statement attributed to Nigerien Petroleum Minister Hamadou Tini, in coverage by the Anadolu agency.
African Atlantic Pipeline aims for route through Morocco
The Moroccan alternative is longer and involves a greater number of countries.
The African Atlantic Pipeline, also called the Nigeria-Morocco Pipeline, is planned to follow the west coast of the continent and cross 13 African countries, combining land and sea sections.
The declared goal of the project is to allow gas produced at different points in West Africa to supply local markets and also reach Spain and other European destinations.
The proposal expands the regional dimension of the infrastructure, as part of the gas could be used in the transit countries themselves.
According to the publication African Business, representatives of the Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines were in Washington, in May 2026, seeking funding for the project.
The report states that the structure would be about 6,900 kilometers long and have an annual capacity of 30 billion cubic meters, with half of this volume directed to African domestic markets.
This design is relevant for the countries involved because the dispute is not limited to gas exports to Europe.
For African governments, the infrastructure is also presented as a way to expand electrification, supply industries, and reduce historical bottlenecks in energy access.
The International Energy Agency estimates that almost 600 million people in Africa still live without access to electricity.
The data helps contextualize why pipelines of this magnitude are treated by authorities and sector institutions as instruments of regional development, as well as export corridors.
Billion-dollar financing weighs on African pipelines
The cost of the projects is one of the main factors of uncertainty.
The Trans-Saharan Pipeline is usually estimated in the tens of billions of dollars, while the African Atlantic Pipeline appears in recent evaluations as an undertaking of approximately US$ 25 billion.
Due to the scale of the works, both projects require participation from states, public companies, private investors, and multilateral financial institutions.
The need for long-term capital also increases the importance of stable contracts, political guarantees, and clear rules for revenue distribution.
A study published in the Journal of Geo-Energy and Environment describes the African Atlantic Pipeline as a transcontinental infrastructure aimed at connecting West African reserves to North African networks and European markets.
The research also points to public-private partnerships and revenue-sharing models among the strategies evaluated to enable energy security, regional cooperation, and sustainability.
The competition between the two corridors has geopolitical impact.
Algeria already has export infrastructure linked to the Mediterranean and seeks to expand its role as a supplier to Europe.
Morocco, in turn, bets on an Atlantic route capable of integrating West African countries and strengthening its position in regional energy negotiations.
Security in the Sahel and energy transition challenge the projects
The obstacles are not limited to financing.
The Trans-Saharan Pipeline crosses areas subject to security risks in the Sahel, political instability, and logistical challenges in the desert.
The region includes countries that have experienced recent institutional tensions and areas affected by armed groups.
In the case of the Atlantic route, the complexity arises from the number of countries involved, the need for regulatory agreements, and the combination of offshore and onshore sections.
The greater the extent of the infrastructure, the more it tends to be exposed to delays, political changes, governance disputes, and financing difficulties.
The energy transition also influences the analysis of long-term viability.
Natural gas is still treated by many governments and companies as a transition fuel, but stricter climate policies in Europe may reduce demand in the coming decades.
This assessment is cited by experts as one of the risks for large-scale fossil infrastructure projects.
To reduce this risk, researchers and industry analysts advocate that new gas corridors be planned with operational flexibility.
Among the alternatives discussed are future adaptations for low-carbon gases, such as green hydrogen, although this possibility still depends on technology, financing, international demand, and regulatory frameworks.
The International Renewable Energy Agency already identifies relevant hydrogen projects in North Africa, but many are still in the initial feasibility phase.
Therefore, the conversion of pipelines or the shared use of infrastructure should not be treated as a guaranteed outcome, but rather as a possibility conditioned by technical and economic decisions.
Africa gains space in the global energy dispute
The reduction of European dependence on Russian gas created an opportunity for African producing and transit countries.
At the same time, the viability of these corridors will depend on the ability of governments to transform export contracts into infrastructure, revenue, and domestic supply.
For these projects to have an effect beyond international trade, it will be necessary to define sharing rules, financing mechanisms, security guarantees, and commitments to local supply.
Without these elements, the impact on the countries crossed by the works may be limited.
With consistent agreements, pipelines can expand the bargaining margin of African countries in the global energy market.
They can also reinforce regional integration, provided that the benefits are not concentrated only at the points of production and export.
The dispute between the routes through the Sahara and the Atlantic shows how the European energy crisis has become directly connected to the African development agenda.
The outcome will depend less on the size of the pipelines and more on how governments, companies, and financiers will share risks, revenues, and access to energy.
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