Nigeria’s oil and gas sector has recorded another major boost as Shell Petroleum Development Company announced a $2 billion Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of the HI offshore gas field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 144.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu welcomed the development, describing it as a strong vote of confidence in his administration’s ongoing economic and energy sector reforms.
The new Non-Associated Gas (NAG) project is expected to deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) starting from 2028 — a volume nearly equivalent to one-third of the feed requirements for the Nigeria LNG Limited’s (NLNG) Train 7 project.
With this latest deal, Nigeria’s total major upstream investment commitments through Final Investment Decisions have now exceeded $8 billion since President Tinubu took office in 2023.
According to the Presidency, the Shell investment marks Nigeria’s third major FID in 18 months, following the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas project and the Bonga North Deepwater project — both seen as strategic to expanding Nigeria’s gas export capacity and deepening domestic energy access.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, said the combined impact of these gas projects would “secure the feed gas required to make NLNG Train 7 not just possible, but transformative.”
She noted that the projects will enhance Nigeria’s global LNG export reliability, increase domestic LPG supply, reduce imports, and support clean energy access for millions of households.
Shell’s Upstream President, Peter Costello, reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria’s energy future, saying the HI project aligns with Shell’s goal of expanding its Integrated Gas portfolio while helping Nigeria strengthen its role in the global LNG market.
President Tinubu attributed the renewed investor confidence to his administration’s targeted energy reforms, which include new fiscal incentives, faster contracting processes, and greater regulatory clarity — measures that have been codified into law since 2024.
“These reforms are working,” Tinubu said. “This second FID by Shell in one year is a clear validation of our efforts and a signal to the world that Nigeria is fully open for business and investment.”
The Presidency emphasized that the HI field, discovered in 1985 but dormant for decades, is now being revived under Presidential Directive 40, which introduced a competitive framework for Non-Associated Gas development in shallow offshore fields.
The NLNG Train 7 project, which will expand Nigeria’s LNG capacity by 8 million metric tonnes per annum (mtpa) — a 35% increase from current production — is expected to catalyse economic growth, create jobs, and empower small and medium-scale enterprises in host communities.
With multiple high-profile FIDs in under two years, the Tinubu administration says it is determined to sustain reforms that will unlock Nigeria’s gas potential, strengthen investor confidence, and reposition the country as a global energy hub.
