By Ken Chiwendu
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell plc, has announced a final investment decision (FID) on Bonga North, a deep-water project off the coast of Nigeria.
The project is expected to sustain oil and gas production at the Bonga facility, the company said in a statement on Monday.
Bonga North currently has an estimated recoverable resource volume of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and will reach a peak production of 110,000 barrels of oil a day, with first oil anticipated by the end of the decade.
According to Shell’s Integrated Gas and Upstream Director,Zoe Yujnowich,“This is another significant investment, which will help us to maintain stable liquids production from our advantaged Upstream portfolio,”
The company said Bonga North will help ensure its leading Integrated Gas and Upstream business continues to drive cash generation into the next decade.
Bonga North will be a subsea tie-back to the Shell-operated Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility which Shell operates with a 55% interest.
The Bonga North project involves drilling, completing, and starting up 16 wells (8 production and 8 water injection wells), modifications to the existing Bonga Main FPSO and the installation of new subsea hardware tied back to the FPSO.
Meanwhile, President Bola Tinubu has expressed joy over the
new $5bn investment in oil sector
The President described Shell and its partners’ announcement of the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the $5 billion Bonga North Deep Offshore Field as a landmark development for the Nigerian oil sector.
In a statement by Bayo Onanuga, his spokesperson on Monday morning, the president noted that the investment by Shell and its partners, Nigeria’s first deepwater oil project in over a decade, underscores the transformative impact of his policies and reforms in attracting investments in the oil and gas sector.
“The FID signals renewed confidence in Nigeria’s energy sector and demonstrates the effectiveness of the Tinubu administration’s strategic focus on engendering a robust and competitive investment climate,”
Tinubu remarked: “The Renewed Hope Agenda fundamentally focuses on attracting investments to transform the Nigerian economy and deliver prosperity to our people. We designed our policies and reforms from the start of my administration to achieve this goal. Shell and its partners’ decision to invest in Bonga North affirms the success of our efforts. We will continue to offer the necessary support to ensure their success and the realisation of Nigeria’s energy potential.”
The statement noted that President Tinubu’s strategic engagement with global energy stakeholders has been instrumental in this renewed wave of investments.
ln July 2023, at the first of several high-level meetings with Shell’s global leadership, President Tinubu declared, “We are open for business and serious about creating a stable, predictable, and investor-friendly environment.”
“Presidential Directives issued in early 2024 reinforced this commitment by fast-tracking regulatory approvals, reducing operational costs, and introducing competitive fiscal incentives.
According to the statement, the Bonga North project is the second of the blueprint projects President Bola Ahmed Tinubu selected to drive the implementation of the transformative Presidential Directives 40, 41, and 42 issued in the first quarter of 2024.
“These directives, aimed at enhancing regulatory clarity, accelerating project timelines, and incentivising investment in Nigeria’s energy sector, have yielded remarkable results.
“Earlier this year, the Ubeta oilfield (OML 58), the first blueprint project under this initiative, achieved a Final Investment Decision (FID) through a partnership between TotalEnergies and NNPC Limited. Dormant since its discovery in 1965, the Ubeta project will produce 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day, bolstering domestic supply and expanding Nigeria’s presence in the global energy market.
“With both blueprint projects now achieving FID, the success of these initiatives underscores the effectiveness of the President’s strategic vision for Nigeria’s energy future.”
