Regional war boosts oil and gas pipeline project activity
1 May 2026
There has been a surge of interest in oil and gas pipeline projects in the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region as a result of the US and Israel’s attack on Iran on 28 February and the subsequent disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Projects collectively worth more than $43bn are being accelerated as countries that normally export oil and gas from the Gulf through the Strait seek alternative routes, and other countries seek to boost profits amid high energy prices.
Some of the key pipelines that have advanced in recent weeks involve Iraq, Algeria and Morocco.
Due to the current high-price environment and a new awareness of the importance of diversifying export routes, it is likely that other pipeline projects in the region will also see milestones announced over the coming weeks.
Iraqi oil
One of the projects seeing accelerated progress is Iraq’s planned $5bn Basra-Haditha crude oil pipeline.
Last month, Iraq announced it was setting up a high-level commission to oversee the development of the project.
The decision was made at a meeting held on 26 April, attended by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani and the Minister of Petroleum Hayyan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, as well as other officials and consultants.
The commission will be chaired by the undersecretary of the Oil Ministry and include advisers to the prime minister, along with director-generals from the Oil Ministry and the Industry & Minerals Ministry.
Al-Sudani said the pipeline project will increase flexibility in transporting crude oil to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, as well as the Syrian port of Baniyas and Jordan’s port of Aqaba.
The pipeline is also expected to strengthen supply to refineries in central and northern Iraq and support higher domestic refining output.
The meeting also approved allocating $1.5bn to the project this year, with funding provided through the Iraq-China oil-for-infrastructure mechanism, according to a statement issued by the Petroleum Ministry.
Earlier this month, Iraq’s Council of Ministers approved amendments allowing the Oil Ministry to directly invite specialised companies to bid for the 685-kilometre pipeline.
The pipeline is expected to have a capacity of up to 2.25 million barrels a day.
Iraq’s oil and gas sector has been devastated by the disruption to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, with oil exports collapsing by about 80%.
As well as the Basra-Haditha crude oil pipeline project, Iraqi officials have also discussed other potential pipeline projects to help the country diversify export routes.
These include a pipeline from Basra to the port of Duqm in Oman that would bypass the Strait of Hormuz.
This project would entail significant logistical challenges and remains at an early conceptual stage.
Morocco and Algeria
While neither Morocco nor Algeria is reliant on the Strait of Hormuz as an export route for oil and gas, both countries are using the current period of high prices as an opportunity to push ahead with ambitious gas pipeline plans.
Speaking at the end of last month at a conference in Ethiopia, the Algerian Minister of Energy and Renewable Energy, Mourad Adjal, said that Algeria was accelerating the development of the planned Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline (TSGP) project, which is estimated to be worth $13bn.
“Algeria is working alongside its partners Nigeria and Niger to advance the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline project, which is expected to play a key role in consolidating energy integration at both the regional and continental levels,” he said.
Adjal told the conference that Algeria’s president, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, places importance on continental cooperation and sees Africa as “a priority focus” within Algeria’s national strategy for developing international partnerships.
In March this year, Algeria’s Sonatrach sent a delegation to Niger to advance the TSGP project.
At the time, officials said that the visit was focused on technical and operational details ahead of the pipeline project’s launch.
The project will connect Nigeria’s gas fields in Warri to Algeria’s Hassi RMel, linking into existing pipelines that supply European markets.
In March last year, UK-based Penspen was awarded a contract to provide a feasibility study update for the TSGP.
Spanning more than 4,000km from Nigeria to Algeria, the pipeline is jointly sponsored by Nigerian National Petroleum Company, Algeria’s Sonatrach and Niger’s Sonidep.
The planned project will facilitate the transportation of up to 30 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year across West and North Africa, ultimately linking to European markets.
The TSGP project was initiated by the collaborative efforts of Nigeria and Algeria in 2002, with Niger admitted in 2008 as a co-sponsor.
In 2006, Penspen delivered the original feasibility study for the project, finding the pipeline to be technically and economically feasible and reliable.
African rivals
Rabat’s plans for the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP), estimated to be worth $25bn, are seen by some as a rival to the TSGP.
Under current plans, the proposed gas pipeline will extend for 6,900km, including onshore and offshore segments.
The Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) will link gas deposits in Nigeria, Senegal and Mauritania to 10 neighbouring African nations.
According to the plan, the project’s northern terminus will connect to the existing Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline, which links Morocco and Spain.
Late last month, Morocco’s state-owned agency for oil, gas and mineral resources said it was preparing to launch a fundraising campaign for the pipeline, which will transport West African gas to the coast of the Mediterranean.
This will be the first time the Office National Des Hydrocarbures & Des Mines (Onhym) has sought to raise capital since it was restructured as a joint-stock company in February.
While Algeria’s TSGP would connect Nigerian fields to European markets via a shorter desert route, crossing fewer countries, Moroccan authorities have stated that they believe their planned coastal route would offer benefits.
Onhym has said that the longer route would boost electrification and energy access for the participating West African nations.
Pipeline logistics
All three of the major pipeline projects that have seen renewed interest over recent weeks have a long history of delays and setbacks.
These delays have clearly illustrated that planning long pipeline projects, especially when they cross multiple countries, can be logistically complex.
While the current period of elevated energy prices and the prospect of high returns on investment should motivate cooperation on these projects, it remains to be seen whether the problems that have previously created delays can be overcome.
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