For about a decade, there was not a single Final Investment Decision (FID) for a Nigerian oil and gas project and instead there was a flurry of divestments. The mood appears to have taken a dramatic turn since 2024, with government figures showing that IOCs announced FIDs on three different projects totalling about US$8 billion of investment. 

The latest FID was Shell’s second in 18 months. On 14 October it said that it will commit US$2 billion to develop a new gas project in OML-144’s shallow-water HI field about 50 kms from the coast. 

By 2028 it will l deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMSCFD) which is about a third of the requirement of the Nigeria LNG Limited’s Train 7 project. The new field is a 40%:60% joint venture between its Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) offshore subsidiary which owns 40% and Nigeria’s Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited. At peak production, the project will supply 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent a day (BOE/D) to Nigeria LNG project, helping to stabilise feedstock supply to the country’s main LNG exporter. 

In June 2024, TotalEnergies announced an FID for the Ubeta gas field to supply feedstock gas to Nigeria LNG. Located in in OML 58 — about 80 kms northwest of Port Harcourt in Rivers State — it will produce about 70,000 BOE/D of gas at its peak. The US$550 million project is expected to begin operations in 2027, with development already started to ensure it is completed before the deadline. 

Together, the HI and Ubeta gas fields are expected to provide approximately 15% of Nigeria LNG’s total feedstock gas requirements across its seven plants. It will significantly strengthen the latter’s reliability of gas supplies and make it more competitive in the global market and also boost supply of liquified petroleum gas to local markets.

Separately, in December 2024, Shell announced the FID on OML-118’s Bonga North offshore oil development in water depths exceeding 1,000 meters. The project involves drilling eight oil wells and eight water injection wells. On completion, Bonga North will have a peak production capacity of 110,000 b/d with total recoverable barrels of 300,000 million barrels.

Enthusiasm appears to have returned to Nigeria’s oil and gas sector after its struggles during the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-years in office. One of the key triggers in its rejuvenation was Tinubu’s approval of the planned divestments of many of the oil majors of their onshore assets, which has created a win-win for the sector. It allowed the latter to concentrate on their offshore projects, which have less community engagement and the associated risks of sabotage and leaks that have put their reputation at risk. 

The indigenous players — who have better community engagement skills and less of a reputational risk burden — are now the major players in the onshore and shallow water space. This has helped boost production as both indigenous and foreign players concentrate on their core area of expertise.

A series of reforms — including a more competitive tax framework for non-associated gas in onshore and shallow offshore fields — has also helped to attract new FIDs. A more accommodative global environment under President Donald Trump for oil and gas investment is also allowing the oil majors to openly make FIDs. This means that for the first time in almost a decade, the outlook for Nigeria’s sector is looking positive. 

The gas project FIDs are the most significant because Nigeria has one of the world’s most underutilised gas assets. The government will be hoping its incentives will continue to attract more investment.

The October 2025 issue of Nigeria Focus also includes the following:

Spotlight

• Tinubu siding with Dangote is about political expediency
• Implications

Profile

• INEC’s new chairman faces a huge challenge

Politics

• The knives are out for Goodluck Jonathan
• Bayelsa Governor on the way to APC just after Mbah left
• Senate draws a line over Natasha’s controversy

Economy

• Rising revenues consumed by ballooning expenses
• Numbers
• Despite decline, food inflation is the elephant in the room

Energy

• First new export terminal in 50 years boosts domestic participation in sector
• Dangote’s RFCC is back up but questions remain
• Third FID in 18 months illustrates faith in reforms

Security

• Tinubu’s pardons undermine antidrug war and security