In a milestone development for African energy infrastructure, the Algerian Minister of State for Hydrocarbons and Mines, Mohamed Arkab, officially launched construction on the Algerian segment of the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) on Thursday. The ceremony, held in the Aoulef region of the Adrar province, was attended by Nigeria’s Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, and Niger’s Minister of Petroleum, Mahaman Moustapha Barké Bako. This definitive step marks a transition from diplomatic framework to physical execution for one of the continent’s most ambitious structural projects. The event was witnessed by local authorities, including the Governor of Adrar, Fodil Dhouifi, alongside the CEO of Sonatrach, Noureddine Daoudi, and senior executives from the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) and Niger’s SONIDEP.
The commencement of works follows the fifth ministerial steering committee meeting in Algiers, which concluded with the joint ratification of the final feasibility study conducted by the British engineering consultancy PENSPEN. This mega-project underpins a shared geopolitical ambition to enhance intra-African energy connectivity, aiming to channel between 20 and 30 billion cubic metres of Nigerian natural gas annually through Niger to Algeria, from where it will tap into advanced domestic processing and transport networks bound for regional and European markets. Beyond transit, the Algerian pipeline segment is engineered to absorb both future Nigerian flows and domestic volumes generated from newly discovered gas fields, notably within the Ahnet basin, effectively consolidating the region’s collective export architecture.
In a joint statement, the three ministers underscored that entering the construction phase reflects the aligned political will of their respective heads of state to forge an exemplary South-South energy partnership rooted in economic solidarity. Mr Ekpo reaffirmed Abuja’s absolute commitment to the pipeline’s success, describing it as a strategic imperative for continental development, while his Nigerien counterpart emphasized its role in catalysing regional economic integration. The delegation praised Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for his sustained advocacy of infrastructure-led pan-African integration. Aligned with the goals of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), the TSGP is positioned to serve as a formidable lever for foreign investment, job creation, and long-term energy security across the Sahel and Mediterranean basins.
