KEY POINTS
- TotalEnergies’ Ubeta and Ima projects could add about 140,000 boepd.
- Ubeta targets first oil in 2027, while Ima is expected in Q4 2028.
- Refined products now make up 47.5% of UK goods imports from Nigeria.
TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited is set to deliver a major boost to Nigeria’s oil and gas production as two offshore projects, Ubeta and Ima, move towards production following investment incentives introduced by the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The projects, operated by TotalEnergies and its partners, are expected to collectively add about 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (boepd) to Nigeria’s output once fully operational.
They are also expected to increase domestic gas availability and provide additional feedstock for Nigeria LNG Limited, NLNG.
Victor Bandele, Deputy Managing Director of TotalEnergies E&P Nigeria Limited in charge of Deepwater Assets, disclosed at the Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition (NAICE) 2026 in Lagos that the Ubeta project is already under development and is scheduled to begin production in 2027.
According to him, TotalEnergies took the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the project in 2024 after the Federal Government introduced incentives aimed at attracting fresh investments into offshore gas developments.
Bandele said the change in government policy helped unlock projects that had previously remained stalled because of unfavourable investment conditions.
Ubeta, located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 58, about 80 kilometres offshore Port Harcourt, is expected to become an important source of additional gas and condensate production.
Industry sources indicated that the project could produce up to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, including approximately 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day.
Ima Project Expected to Start Production in 2028
The second major project, the Ima offshore field, is also progressing towards development.
TotalEnergies is working with its joint-venture partner, AMNI International Petroleum Development Company, to conclude the Final Investment Decision for the field.
Bandele said the FID for Ima was imminent, with first oil targeted for the fourth quarter of 2028.
Like Ubeta, Ima is expected to have a production capacity of about 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, bringing the combined potential contribution of the two projects to roughly 140,000 boepd.
The development would represent a significant addition to Nigeria’s upstream production at a time when the country is seeking to reverse years of declining investment and output.
Bandele attributed the progress on the projects largely to investment incentives introduced by the Tinubu administration in 2023 and 2024, particularly those targeting offshore natural gas development.
He noted that TotalEnergies and other oil and gas companies had struggled to bring new deepwater projects into production after the Egina field came on stream in 2018.
