Post #415

What Is the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline? [ Megaprojects ] 🌍 Sometimes people like to come up with gigantic and hard-to-implement projects. They can be completely utopian, like the idea of building a massive hydroelectric plant in the Strait of Gibraltar, or theoretically feasible, like Elon Musk’s plan to launch 10,000 internet satellites — which he has done. It is clear that sheer scale does not automatically make a project a good one. ♦️ One project on the border between reality and fantasy is the Trans-Saharan Gas Pipeline. The idea is so simple that people came up with it back in 2001: Nigeria has gas, Europe needs gas — let's build a pipeline from Nigeria to Europe through Algeria. 👀 Yet even such a basic concept as laying pipes in a line has failed to materialize. Every 8–10 years since 2001 governments have been signing memorandums, but without any real progress. 🏹 The main problem of this mega-pipeline, whose cost is estimated at $13 billion, lies on the surface: it would run straight through the most dangerous and unstable parts of the continent — northern Nigeria, Niger, and southern Algeria. For a 4,000 km pipeline assigning just one guard per 100 meters would require 40,000 people — roughly the entire Nigerien army today. 📺 Moreover, if one is to build such a monstrosity, there must be confidence that it will pay off. Nigeria itself still struggles with gas supply and electricity shortages — would it really supply northern signori and messieurs at the expense of its own needs? ▶️ As a result, for decades now the pipeline has existed not on the ground, but on paper. And perhaps that is for the best. Maybe one day rulers will realize that gas can be sold to domestic industries, and the need to stretch an iron tentacle all the way to Europe will simply disappear. #Megaprojects ➡️ Follow to stay informed - @devilsbelow