Algeria, Nigeria, Niger sign gas supply agreement 

(MENAFN - Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) Algeria, Nigeria and Niger on Friday signed an agreement to build a pipeline that will bring Nigerian gas across the Sahara desert to European markets.

The project is expected to cost around USD 13 billion and is hoped to deliver around 30 billion cubic meters of gas per year to Europe.

Europe is keen to diversify its supply and reduce its reliance on Russian gas, which has been disrupted by repeated disputes with Ukraine.

Nigeria is one of the world's top crude oil exporters, but it also has significant gas reserves.

Signatories of the agreement were Algerian Minister of Energy Mining Chakib Khalil and his counterparts; Abdoulahi Mohammad of Niger's and Rilwanu Lukman of Nigeria.

Total and Royal Dutch Shell have expressed interest in the project, but analysts say Russian giant Gazprom is ahead of the curve.

Gazprom signed a cooperation deal with Nigeria's state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) during a recent visit to Nigeria by President Dmitry Medvedev.