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By Adewale Sanyaolu and Juliana Taiwo-Obanloye (Abuja)
Efforts to boost Nigeria’s gas production has received a boost as Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell plc, with Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited, have announced a $2 billion final investment decision (FID) on the HI gas project offshore Nigeria.
Commenting on the FID, President Bola Tinubu, in a statement by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, welcomed the announcement as a testament to the success of his administration’s reform agenda and a clear signal of renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s energy sector.
“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,” the President said.
President Tinubu reiterated his administration’s dedication to maintaining an enabling environment for both domestic and foreign investors, highlighting that the recent series of Final Investment Decisions underscores Nigeria’s transformation into a competitive and attractive investment destination.
When completed, the project will supply 350 million standard cubic feet (approximately 60 thousand barrels of oil equivalent) of gas per day at peak production to Nigeria LNG (NLNG; Shell interest 25.6 per cent), which produces and exports liquified natural gas (LNG) to global markets. Production is expected to begin before the end of this decade. “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,” said Peter Costello, Shell’s Upstream President.
“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.”
The increase in feedstock to NLNG, via the Train 7 project that aims to expand the Bonny Island terminal’s production capacity, is in line with Shell’s plans to grow its global LNG volumes by an average of 4-5 per cent per year until 2030. It will also bolster NLNG’s contribution to Nigeria’s national economic development goals, including jobs in construction and operations.
