Photo caption: President Tinubu in a handshake with Shell Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, while Shell’s President, Upstream, Peter Costello looks with a smile.
By Emeka Ugwuanyi
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support the proposed Bonga South-West deep-offshore oil project by Shell and its partners.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, after the presidential approval for the investment-linked incentives, said on her X that Shell plans to invest $20 billion in the Bonga South-West deepwater project.
At peak production, Bonga South-West is expected to produce 220,000 barrels of oil per day.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Public Communication, Sunday Dare, the President also directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the gazette of the incentives in line with Nigeria’s existing legal and fiscal frameworks.
Receiving the Shell delegation led by its Global Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, President Tinubu said the incentives are disciplined, targeted, and globally competitive, designed to attract new capital without undermining government revenues.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions,” the President stated. “They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital and incremental production, strong local content delivery, and in-country value addition.
“My expectation is clear: Bonga South West must reach a Final Investment Decision within the first term of this administration.”
Photo caption: President Bola Tinubu and Wael Sawan with Shell delegation and officials of Nigerian government after the meeting
President Tinubu emphasised that the Bonga South West project is strategic to Nigeria’s economy, with the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, generate significant foreign-exchange inflows, and deliver sustained government revenues over the life of the project. He added that the project would also deepen Nigerian participation in offshore engineering, fabrication, logistics, and energy services.
The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty, and speed, noting that these reforms are critical to restoring investor confidence and positioning Nigeria as a preferred destination for large-scale energy investment.
He further noted that Shell and its partners have invested nearly US$7 billion in Nigeria in the past 13 months, particularly in Bonga North and HI, describing this as a clear sign that Nigeria’s economic and energy-sector reforms are delivering results. Shell HI project is a major non-associated offshore gas development where Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) and partner Sunlink took a final investment decision (FID) in late 2025 for a $2 billion project to supply gas to Nigeria LNG’s Train 7.
In his remarks, Mr. Sawan said Nigeria’s investment climate has improved remarkably under the Tinubu administration, adding that Shell is increasingly confident in Nigeria as a destination for long-term investment.
Members of the Shell delegation included senior executives from Shell’s global and Nigerian leadership.
Shell, according to Oilprice.com report, has doubled down on the Bonga oilfield after announcing at the end of 2024 the final investment decision for the development of the Bonga North deep-water project—a subsea tie-back to the Shell-operated Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility. Bonga North currently has an estimated recoverable resource volume of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent and will reach a peak production of 110,000 bpd, with first oil anticipated by the end of the decade.
Since the current administration took office in 2023, Shell has invested $7 billion in Nigeria, particularly in the Bonga North and HI projects, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, the president’s special energy adviser, said.
Last year, Shell and its partner Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited took a final investment decision on the HI gas project offshore Nigeria, which will supply additional gas volumes to Nigeria LNG.
“During the Meeting Shell informed Mr President of plans to invest an additional $20 billion on the upcoming Bonga South West project,” Verheijen said on X.
