Nigeria and Shell are moving closer to unlocking a potential $20 billion investment in the Bonga South West deepwater oilfield after President Bola Tinubu approved “investment-linked” incentives for the project following a meeting with Shell Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan.
Speaking in a statement released late Thursday, Tinubu said the incentives are part of broader regulatory reforms aimed at attracting new capital to Africa’s largest crude oil producer and boosting oil and gas output.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions,” Tinubu said, explaining that they will be ring-fenced and targeted strictly at new capital, incremental production, and strong local content delivery.
His office did not provide further details on the structure of the incentives, Reuters reported.
Tinubu also made clear his expectations for the project’s timeline, saying, “My expectation is clear: Bonga South West must reach a final investment decision within the first term of this administration.”
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Shell’s CEO, Wael Sawan, said the company is working toward taking Bonga South West to a final investment decision in 2027.
According to a video shared on LinkedIn by the president’s special energy adviser, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, Sawan said the project could attract about $20 billion in total investment from Shell and its partners.
He explained that roughly half of the amount would be capital expenditure, while the remainder would come from operating costs and other spending.
Sawan also noted that Shell is interested in participating in Nigeria’s upcoming oil exploration licensing round.
Highlighting Shell’s recent commitments to Nigeria, Sawan said the company invested $5 billion in Bonga North and $2 billion in the HI gas project that supplies Nigeria LNG over the past 12 months.
Shell took a final investment decision on the Bonga North development in 2024 as part of efforts to sustain production at the Bonga floating production, storage, and offloading facility.
Shell further reinforced its offshore focus in Nigeria last year by acquiring an additional stake from TotalEnergies, increasing its ownership in the Bonga oilfield to 65% after divesting its onshore assets. Other partners in the Bonga field include subsidiaries of Exxon Mobil and Eni.
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