THE Presidency has lauded Shell’s decision to commit $2 billion to the HI offshore gas development project in Nigeria, noting that the project will elevate Nigeria’s gas output by supplying up to 350 million cubic feet of gas needed for economic activities.
The Presidency also disclosed that Nigeria has attracted over $8 billion in new investments in the oil and gas sector within the first two years of President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
A statement on Tuesday, October, by Tinubu’s media aide, Bayo Onanuga, hailed Shell’s Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project as another endorsement of the Tinubu government’s economic and energy sector reforms.
The ICIR reports that the HI gas project, located in the shallow offshore Oil Mining Lease (OML) 144, is expected to produce about 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak production to Nigeria LNG (NLNG; Shell interest 25.6%)
Shell’s Upstream President Peter Costello, in a statement by Shell, noted that “Following recent investment decisions related to the Bonga deep-water development, today’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector, with a focus on Deepwater and Integrated Gas.”
“This Upstream project will help Shell grow our leading Integrated Gas portfolio, while supporting Nigeria’s plans to become a more significant player in the global LNG market,” he added.
Shell stated that the increased gas feedstock to Nigeria LNG (NLNG) through the Train 7 project, which is designed to expand production capacity at the Bonny Island terminal, aligns with its strategy to grow global LNG output by an average of 4–5 per cent annually through 2030.
The company added that the development will strengthen NLNG’s role in advancing Nigeria’s economic goals by creating thousands of jobs during construction and operations.
Reacting to this, Tinubu stated, “This major FID announcement by Shell, their second in one year, is a clear validation of our wide-ranging reform efforts and a signal to the world that Nigeria is fully open for business and investment.”
According to the statement, the HI project marks the third major Final Investment Decision in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector since Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
It further said that the projects, including the Ubeta and Bonga North developments, together have brought total new investments in the sector to over $8 billion since Tinubu assumed office.
“This investment decision is Nigeria’s third major oil and gas FID in the last 18 months, following the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas project and the Bonga North deepwater project. It marks yet another milestone in Nigeria’s journey to unlock its abundant gas resources for domestic and export use. The Ubeta and HI gas projects can supply up to 15 per cent of the NLNG’s total feedgas requirements, covering Trains 1 to 7,” the statement noted.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M