KEY POINTS
- Shell Plc plans to invest about $20 billion in Nigeria’s energy sector over the next few years, according to NNPC.
- A major focus of the investment is the Bonga Southwest deep offshore oil project, backed by new government incentives.
- NNPC says the investment could support jobs and production for up to 30 years while boosting investor confidence in Nigeria.
Shell Plc has promised to put about $20 billion into Nigeria’s energy sector over the next few years. This shows that investors are once again confident in the country’s oil and gas industry, even though there is a lot of competition for capital around the world.
Bayo Ojulari, Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, said the commitment after Shell executives met with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu at the State House in Abuja on Thursday.
Ojulari said that the planned investment shows that Shell is becoming more confident in Nigeria’s leadership and policy direction, especially reforms that are meant to make things more clear and boost investor confidence.
“Shell made commitments to the president today of pushing another $20 billion opportunity over the next couple of years,” Ojulari told journalists. “They indicated both their capacity to invest and their ability to mobilise the required resources.”
Confidence in leadership and reforms
The head of the NNPC says that Shell’s renewed interest is due to what the company sees as real changes happening under the Tinubu administration.
Nigeria has been trying to improve its oil and gas sector after years of low investment due to unclear rules, oil theft, and the need to switch to other forms of energy. New commitments from international oil companies are starting to come in because of recent changes, such as the Petroleum Industry Act and efforts to stabilize fiscal terms.
“Everyone is competing for global capital,” Ojulari said. “This confidence is not based on promises alone, but on what investors can see and feel around transparency and commitment to the president’s agenda.”
The Bonga Southwest deep offshore oil project is a big part of Shell’s planned investment. President Tinubu agreed to the publication of investment-linked incentives during the meeting. These incentives are meant to help Shell and its partners develop the project.
The Bonga Southwest project is expected to be one of Nigeria’s biggest deep offshore projects in years. It will boost crude oil production and provide the country with long-term income.
Ojulari said that the project would cost about $10 billion to run and would create jobs for Nigerians over the next 25 to 30 years in construction, operations, and related services.
