By Promise Toyon
Nigeria has recorded another milestone in its energy sector as Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) announced a $2 billion Final Investment Decision (FID) for the development of the HI Non-Associated Gas (NAG) field in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 144, located in the country’s shallow offshore region.
The Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, the project, which is expected to deliver around 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) by 2028, will contribute nearly a third of the feed gas requirements for Nigeria LNG Limited’s (NLNG) Train 7 project, currently under construction in Bonny Island, Rivers State.
This latest decision brings total upstream investment commitments in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry to over $8 billion since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu assumed office in 2023, reflecting renewed investor confidence driven by the administration’s ongoing sector reforms.
The HI project marks the third major oil and gas FID within the last 18 months, following the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas and Bonga North deepwater projects. Together, the Ubeta and HI gas developments could supply up to 15 percent of NLNG’s total feedgas needs, covering Trains 1 through 7.
According to the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the Tinubu administration has implemented several targeted reforms since 2024, ranging from fiscal incentives and regulatory clarity to shorter approval timelines and reduced contracting costs to improve Nigeria’s investment competitiveness. Many of these reforms have since been enshrined in law.
The Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, described the latest investment as a major step toward realizing Nigeria’s gas ambitions.
Shell’s Upstream President, Peter Costello, reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria, emphasizing the project’s alignment with Shell’s global strategy.
The NLNG Train 7 expansion, which will increase the country’s LNG production capacity by 8 million metric tonnes annually, about 35 percent of current output, is expected to reinforce Nigeria’s standing in global gas markets, create jobs, stimulate economic growth, and boost small and medium enterprises in host communities.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu welcomed Shell’s investment as a sign of growing international confidence in Nigeria’s economy and reforms.
The HI gas field, originally discovered in 1985, is being developed under Presidential Directive 40, which introduced a competitive fiscal framework for Non-Associated Gas projects in onshore and shallow offshore terrains.
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