Bonga FPSO (Credit: Shell)
Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has approved targeted, investment-linked incentives for Shell’s Bonga South West deepwater oil project following a meeting with the company’s chief executive, Tinubu’s office said.
The proposed incentives are the latest in a raft of regulatory reforms in Africa’s top crude oil producer as it looks to attract investment to boost oil and gas production.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions,” Tinubu said in a statement late on Thursday.
He said the incentives will be ring-fenced and focused on new capital, incremental production and strong local content delivery.
“My expectation is clear: Bonga South West must reach a Final Investment Decision within the first term of this administration,” Tinubu added.
Shell took a Final Investment Decision on the Bonga North development in 2024 as it sought to maintain output at its linked Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading facility.
Since the start of Tinubu’s presidential term in 2023, Shell has invested some $7 billion in Bonga North and other projects, the presidency said.
The president’s special energy adviser, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, who has been tasked with helping finalise the incentives, said the visit led by Shell’s CEO Wael Sawan reaffirmed the oil major’s long-term confidence in Nigeria.
“During the meeting Shell informed Mr President of plans to invest an additional $20 billion on the upcoming Bonga South West Project,” she said in a separate LinkedIn post.
Shell was not immediately available for comment outside of normal business hours to confirm that figure or say when it expected to take a Final Investment Decision on the project.
Last year Shell acquired a stake from TotalEnergies that raised its share in the Bonga oilfield to 65%, underlining its continued interest in offshore Nigeria production after selling its onshore assets to Renaissance, a consortium of four local companies and an international energy group.
(Reuters – Reporting by Wendell Roelf; Editing by Alexander Winning and Ronojoy Mazumdar)
