WEST AFRICAN GAS PIPELINE PROJECT: LAW, PRACTICE AND MACHINERY

Abstract

Since the country's gas discovery in the late 1960s, energy has been crucial for the economic and social development of every nation on the planet. Nigeria has a thriving gas pipeline business. With its abundant hydrocarbon resources, Nigeria has grown to be a significant global oil and gas exporter. It is also set to overtake South Africa as the region's top energy exporter. However, the West African Gas Pipeline Project (WAGP), an initiative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the governments of Nigeria, Ghana, Benin, and Togo, was designed to substitute the plentiful and inexpensive natural gas from Nigeria for the expensive fuels used by the industrial and commercial sectors of the energy-strapped neighbours in Ghana, Benin, and Togo. This paper analyses the history of the West African Gas Pipeline Project (WAGP), the laws governing the project, and the systems in place to ensure the project's successful completion using a doctrinal approach. This paper will also examine the project's difficulties, drawbacks, and potential. The research found that the West African region is plagued by the problem of energy security in terms of its transmission, availability, and sustainability notwithstanding ECOWAS initiative on the WAGP project. According to the article, the region deals with issues including corruption, finance, inadequate technical expertise, and poverty, among others.