GNV News, 11 June 2026

On 4 June 2026, construction began on a new section of a gas pipeline that will connect Algeria and Nigeria across the Sahara Desert. The pipeline will extend about 4,128 km in total, transporting gas from Nigeria—home to the largest natural gas reserves on the African continent—through Niger to Algeria. The section that has now broken ground is the Algerian segment: 1,210 km from the Niger border to Aoulef in central Algeria.

The gas pipeline project between Algeria and Nigeria had stalled after an agreement was reached in 2009 among the three transit countries. The main reasons were numerous challenges in financing, operation, and security due to terrorist and anti-government activities in the Sahara Desert.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, the resulting surge in global gas demand and prices led to the project’s revival. The European Union plans to end its dependence on Russian gas by 2027, and as Russian gas is being boycotted, Algeria has become one of the main gas suppliers to Europe.

Most of the Algeria–Nigeria gas pipeline will be completed by integrating newly built sections with existing pipelines. Niger has announced that it will begin construction of its approximately 720 km domestic section in early 2027. The Algerian segment now under construction will later be connected to existing pipelines that lead to Algeria’s Hassi R’Mel, one of the largest natural gas fields in Africa. From there, the gas will be transported to export terminals along the Mediterranean coast in Algeria and Tunisia. The pipeline is expected to transport about 30 billion cubic meters of gas annually and is also intended to supply countries in the Sahel region.

Morocco, which is competing with Algeria, is planning to build an Atlantic coastal gas pipeline involving 13 countries, running from Nigeria to Morocco.

Learn more about the Sahara Desert → “Challenging Sahara crossings: Africa’s refugee crisis”

Learn more about gas distribution → “Why does Australia give away its own gas for almost nothing?”

Gas field in the Algerian desert (Photo: Adam / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0])