Shell has announced a $2 billion investment in the development of the HI Field, a shallow offshore Non-Associated Gas project located in OML 144. This represents another major boost to Nigeria’s gas sector, and Nigerians have been reacting.
In a press statement issued in Abuja, the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said that the project, which will guarantee about 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) from 2028, represents the country’s second major gas investment in 18 months.
Emphasizing that the latest development reiterates renewed global confidence in the nation’s oil and gas industry under President Tinubu, Onanuga revealed that the new project brings total upstream investment commitments through Final Investment Decisions to over $8 billion since Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
Hailing the development, Tinubu stressed that the investment is another validation of his government’s energy sector reforms and the nation’s increasing attractiveness to international investors.
“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,” Tinubu was quoted to have said.
Discovered in 1985, the HI gas project will contribute almost one-third of the feedgas supply needed for Nigeria LNG Train 7, which aims to expand the country’s LNG production capacity by 8 million metric tonnes per annum, a 35 per cent increase in current output.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, disclosed that the project is a result of the government’s targeted reforms, including Presidential Directive 40, which introduced a competitive fiscal framework for onshore and shallow offshore gas projects.
“With the Ubeta FID and now the HI FID, we have secured the gas supply needed to make NLNG Train 7 not just possible, but transformative.
These projects will strengthen Nigeria’s LNG exports, expand LPG supply for domestic use, reduce imports, and advance clean cooking access for millions of homes,” she said.
Shell’s Upstream President, Peter Costello, concluded by saying that the investment demonstrates the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector.
“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,” he added.
