Africa is in the process of developing its energy infrastructure, as it seeks to exploit its supplies of fossil fuels.

The continent has twelve percent of the world’s oil reserves and eight percent of gas supplies.

It is attracting billions of pounds of investment as it looks to launch over 400 oil and gas projects over the next four years.

This year, around £85 billion is expected to be invested in energy across Africa.

Most of that money, £54 billion, goes into fossil fuel schemes, with the remainder financing a range of clean energy technologies.

One major project under discussion is a plan to build a gas pipeline from Nigeria to Morocco.

The pipeline would extend for 4,350 miles and pass through 13 countries along the Atlantic coast.

It will have a capacity of 10 billion cubic metres a year and could cost as much as £19 billion.

The pipeline has the potential to be extended to Spain, thus making it easier for African countries to sell their gas to European markets.

Nigeria’s government is very keen to get the project off the ground and exploit its abundant gas resources.

According to estimates from the US Energy Information Administration, the country has the world’s ninth-largest proven gas reserves.

However, the country flares off vast amounts of gas produced along with crude oil due to a lack of infrastructure to make use of it.

The country currently exports its gas through the six-train Bonny LNG plant and the West African Gas Pipeline, which is operated by Chevron.

A decision on the new pipeline is expected to be made towards the end of this current year.

“There is ongoing engagement on the Nigeria Morocco Gas Pipeline Project (NMGP), which is at an advanced stage, to create a pipeline that will pass through 13 African countries and all the way to Europe,” NNPC group CEO Mele Kyari told an energy conference in Houston earlier this year.

He added: “The final investment decision (FID) for the US$25 billion NMGP project will be made by December 2024.”