Algeria, Niger and Nigeria sign MoU for Saharan gas pipeline

Algeria, Nigeria and Niger have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a natural gas pipeline across the Sahara desert, Algeria's energy minister said on Thursday. The three countries had in June agreed to revive the decades-old talks over the project, a potential opportunity for Europe to diversify its gas sources.

Algeria, Nigeria and Niger have signed a memorandum of understanding to build a natural gas pipeline across the Sahara desert, Algeria's energy minister said on Thursday.

The three countries had in June agreed to revive the decades-old talks over the project, a potential opportunity for Europe to diversify its gas sources. The pipeline is expected to span 4,000 kilometers, according to Algeria's Ennahar TV.

The Trans-Saharan gas pipeline is an estimated $13 billion project that could send up to 30 billion cubic metres a year of supplies to Europe. The idea was first proposed more than 40 years ago and an agreement signed between the countries in 2009, but progress stalled.