Tinubu hails $5 Billion Investment in Nigeria’s first deepwater oil project in over a decade
Kunle Sanni
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed Shell and its partners’ decision to proceed with the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Bonga North Deep Offshore Field, marking Nigeria’s first deepwater oil project in more than a decade.
This was contained in a statement issued by Bayo Onanuga Special Adviser to the President (Information and Strategy) on Monday.
This landmark development, Nigeria’s first deepwater oil project in over a decade, underscores the transformative impact of the President’s policies and reforms in attracting investments in the oil and gas sector.
The Bonga North oilfield, located 130 kilometres offshore in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118, represents an impressive estimated $5 billion investment and is expected to yield approximately 350 million barrels of crude oil.
Shell holds the largest operational interest, with 55%. Its other partners are the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, and Eni.
The FID signals renewed confidence in Nigeria’s energy sector and demonstrates the effectiveness of the Tinubu administration’s strategic focus on engendering a robust and competitive investment climate.
President Tinubu remarked: “The Renewed Hope Agenda fundamentally focuses on attracting investments to transform the Nigerian economy and deliver prosperity to our people. We designed our policies and reforms from the start of my administration to achieve this goal. Shell and its partners’ decision to invest in Bonga North affirms the success of our efforts. We will continue to offer the necessary support to ensure their success and the realisation of Nigeria’s energy potential.”
President Tinubu’s strategic engagement with global energy stakeholders has been instrumental in this renewed wave of investments. In July 2023, at the first of several high-level meetings with Shell’s global leadership, President Tinubu declared, “We are open for business and serious about creating a stable, predictable, and investor-friendly environment.”
Presidential Directives issued in early 2024 reinforced this commitment by fast-tracking regulatory approvals, reducing operational costs, and introducing competitive fiscal incentives.
The Bonga North project is the second of the blueprint projects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu selected to drive the implementation of the transformative Presidential Directives 40, 41, and 42 issued in the first quarter of 2024.
These directives, aimed at enhancing regulatory clarity, accelerating project timelines, and incentivising investment in Nigeria’s energy sector, have yielded remarkable results.
