President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the announcement by Shell and its partners of their Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Bonga North Deep Offshore Field. This is according to a State House press statement signed by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga.
According to the statement, the landmark investment in Bonga North, which is 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”, the statement added.
According to Onanuga, President Tinubu stated: “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.”
Mr. Bayo Onanuga went further to state that President Tinubu’s strategic engagement with global energy stakeholders has been instrumental in this renewed wave of investments.
He noted that 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.”
He explained that 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 according to him, 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. Earlier this year, the Ubeta oilfield (OML 58), the first blueprint project under this initiative, achieved a Final Investment Decision (FID) through a partnership between TotalEnergies and NNPC Limited. Dormant since its discovery in 1965, the Ubeta project will produce 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, bolstering domestic supply and expanding Nigeria’s presence in the global energy market”, Onanuga went on to say.
“With both blueprint projects now achieving FID, the success of these initiatives underscores the effectiveness of the President’s strategic vision for Nigeria’s energy future.”