The African Energy Chamber (AEC) has expressed serious concern over the slow pace of construction of major gas pipeline projects across Africa, particularly the major project being promoted by Nigeria.
The construction of the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano gas pipeline project has reached 90% completion as of November 2025, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPCL) announced in a recent report.
The AKK gas pipeline aims to transport gas from producing fields in the south to growing industrial hubs in the north and is the cornerstone of the country’s strategy to turn its vast gas reserves into a catalyst for domestic industrial growth.
The AKK pipeline will be capable of transporting 2 billion standard cubic feet of natural gas per day to three planned independent power plants in Abuja, Kaduna, Kano and other gas-based industries, as well as certain other commercial off-takers along the entire route of the pipeline. The project has faced challenges including political instability, theft and sabotage along the route.
Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPCL, said the company has integrated technology to reduce production costs from the current average of $40 per barrel to achieve optimal results.
In line with Nigeria’s Energy Transition Plan, which aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2060, NNPCL has launched several gas-led transition programs, including the expansion of the auto gas program, with a target of over 1 million vehicles by 2026.
Meanwhile, the Africa Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP), a transcontinental initiative linking Nigeria to Morocco and potentially Europe, represents Africa’s most ambitious regional vision. The 5,660-kilometre corridor is on track for construction as of August 2025 and is intended to transport billions of cubic meters of natural gas annually across West Africa.
Its potential impact is transformative, providing energy for hundreds of millions of people, fostering cross-border industrial development and positioning Africa as a strategic gas supplier to Europe amid global supply uncertainty.
However, the sheer size of the AAGP highlights persistent factors slowing down the African pipeline, including securing long-term funding, coordinating multiple governments, navigating a complex environmental and regulatory landscape, and managing security risks across thousands of kilometers.
Several common challenges explain why progress on pipeline projects is often slow across the continent.
The chamber highlighted that investor concerns about technical complexity, regulatory delays, and political and security risks remain major obstacles to accelerating pipeline development across Africa.
Africa Energy Week (AEW), scheduled to return to Cape Town from 12 to 16 October 2026, will play a key role in addressing these challenges. The event provides a central forum for dialogue between governments, energy companies, financiers and international stakeholders, bringing together decision makers who can overcome regulatory frameworks, unlock investment and drive cross-border cooperation.
In 2025, AEW discussions emphasized that while Africa’s pipeline ambitions are technically achievable, current progress depends on concerted action across policy, finance and engineering.
These projects are more than just engineering ventures. They serve as strategic instruments for industrialization, regional integration, and economic transformation.
Africa’s major pipeline projects have transformative potential, but financing, technical and regulatory hurdles continue to shape their pace and impact, according to the African Energy Chamber. Africa has vast hydrocarbon resources, but decades of underdeveloped infrastructure continue to limit the economic potential of the oil and gas sector.
The East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), which will stretch more than 1,400 kilometers from Uganda’s Lake Albert oil field to Tanzania’s Tanga Port, has finally secured the full $5 billion it needs to be completed in late 2025, with support from African financial and development finance institutions. As of June 2025, 60% of the construction work has been completed.
This breakthrough removes one of the project’s most significant hurdles and restores momentum after a period of stalled progress. By mid-2025, construction was already about 60 percent complete, but a prolonged lack of funding threatened to delay the schedule. EACOP highlights the delicate balance that African energy projects must navigate, even though funding is currently secured. On the one hand, there are the promises of export revenues and industrial development, and on the other, the environmental, social, and regulatory complexities associated with building a cross-border pipeline through a sensitive landscape.
The pipeline is majority owned by Total Energies with 62% ownership, Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) 15%, Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) 15% and CNOOC 8%. Once completed, this pipeline will cross borders and territories around the world.
