Nigerian President Bola Tinubu has approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support Shell’s proposed Bonga South-West deep-offshore oil project.
Receiving the Shell delegation led by Global Chief Executive Officer, Mr Wael Sawan, Tinubu said that the incentives were disciplined, targeted and globally competitive.
He directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the gazette in line with existing legal and fiscal frameworks.
The statement issued by Mr. Sunday Dare, Special Adviser to the President on Media and Public Communication, on Thursday in Abuja, said that the measures were designed to attract fresh capital without undermining government revenues.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions. They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital, incremental production, strong local content delivery and in-country value addition.
“My expectation is clear: Bonga South-West must reach a Final Investment Decision within the first term of this administration,” he said.
He described the project as strategic to Nigeria’s economy, with potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.
According to him, the project will generate significant foreign-exchange inflows and deliver sustained government revenues throughout the project’s lifespan.
Tinubu added that the project would deepen Nigerian participation in offshore engineering, fabrication, logistics and energy services.
He reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty and speedy execution to restore investor confidence.
The Nigerian leader noted that Shell and its partners invested nearly seven billion dollars in Nigeria within the past 13 months.
He said that investments in Bonga North and HI showed that Nigeria’s economic and energy-sector reforms were yielding positive results.
In his remarks, Sawan said Nigeria’s investment climate has improved significantly under the Tinubu administration and that Shell’s confidence in the country as a long-term investment destination has strengthened.
In addition, the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Mr. Bayo Ojulari, disclosed that Shell Plc plans to invest about $20 billion in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector over the coming years, citing renewed investor confidence driven by recent policy reforms.
Ojulari spoke after a high-level meeting at the State House between President Tinubu and Shell CEO Wael Sawan, the first engagement of its kind between a sitting Nigerian President and a Shell global chief executive.
According to Ojulari, Shell’s renewed investment appetite reflects growing international recognition that Nigeria has substantially improved its operating environment, despite intense global competition for energy capital from regions such as Guyana and parts of Asia.
“The competition for investment is global,” Ojulari said. “One of the most impactful steps taken by Mr. President was the issuance of executive orders that introduced additional incentives to attract investments.”
He explained that Shell’s planned capital deployment follows over $7 billion already invested since 2024, when the administration introduced executive orders to fine-tune Nigeria’s investment climate.
GIK/APA