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 in Nigeria.
The Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, said in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja that the project, which is expected to deliver about 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) from 2028, represents Nigeria’s second major gas investment in 18 months and underscores renewed global confidence in the country’s oil and gas industry under President Tinubu.
It added that the new project brings total upstream investment commitments through Final Investment Decisions to over $8 billion since Tinubu assumed office in 2023.
Welcoming the development, Tinubu described the investment as another validation of his administration’s energy sector reforms and the country’s growing 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 as saying.
The HI gas project, discovered in 1985, will contribute nearly one-third of the feedgas supply required for Nigeria LNG Train 7, which aims to expand the nation’s LNG production capacity by 8 million metric tonnes per annum, a 35 per cent increase in current output.
According to the statement, the HI project follows the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas project and the Bonga North deepwater development, making it the third major oil and gas FID in 18 months. Together, the HI and Ubeta projects are expected to supply up to 15 per cent of the NLNG’s total feedgas requirements across Trains 1 to 7.
Shell’s Upstream President, Peter Costello, said 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 said.
