Nigeria has secured its largest deepwater investment commitment in nearly two decades after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a landmark fiscal incentive package to unlock the Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Bonga Southwest Aparo (BSWA) deepwater project — a move expected to attract approximately $20 billion in Foreign Direct Investment.
The approval, described by industry observers as a turning point for Nigeria’s upstream sector, ends a stalemate that had persisted for nearly two decades. It marks the first FID on a Nigeria deepwater Production Sharing Contract asset since 2008, signalling a decisive shift in the country’s investment climate.
The breakthrough followed months of intensive technical and commercial negotiations between NNPC Limited as the concessionaire, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, and Shell CEO Wael Sawan. The fiscal package includes an enhanced Production Tax Credit and the resolution of a 2021 dispute settlement agreement.
NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, hailed the development as proof of what partnership and policy clarity can achieve. “For nearly two decades, the Bonga Southwest project remained stalled. Today, under President Tinubu’s reform-driven leadership and through NNPC’s sustained advocacy, we have broken that logjam,” he said.
The project, operated by Shell with all International Oil Companies (IOCs) in Nigeria as partners, is projected to create over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs and deliver 150,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 140 million standard cubic feet per day of gas upon completion. With presidential approval now secured, NNPC Limited and its partners will advance toward the formal FID, triggering the multi-billion-dollar capital commitment.
Source: championnews.com.ng