Energy ministers from Côte d’Ivoire, Benin, and Togo met in Abidjan on Sunday to sign a cooperative framework designed to improve regional access to natural gas.
The agreement was reached as all three West African nations face growing demand for gas-fired electricity amid rising power system pressures.
Supported by the World Bank Group, the initiative seeks to tackle shared supply constraints while strengthening the countries’ collective bargaining power with global gas suppliers.
Togo’s Energy Minister, Robert Koffi Eklo, emphasized that cooperation is crucial as reliance on expensive liquid fuels continues to burden national electricity production.
The ministers also discussed the possible creation of a regional gas institution modeled after the West African Power Pool to coordinate long-term supply management.
According to the World Bank’s Vice President for West and Central Africa, Ousmane Diagana, a unified approach could help consolidate LNG demand and reduce overall acquisition costs.
The final declaration outlines three priorities: pooling LNG imports, forming a technical working group within one month, and designing a bankable project structure with World Bank support.
This initiative aligns with Côte d’Ivoire’s ongoing expansion of its gas sector, including production from the Baleine field and new drilling campaigns in several offshore blocks.
Parallel to these efforts, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana continue to evaluate a bidirectional gas pipeline to serve power generation, fertilizer manufacturing, and industrial needs across the subregion.
In the long run, the three-way cooperation and new infrastructure could diversify supply options for Benin and Togo and reduce the region’s chronic dependence on Nigerian gas.