Nigeria has secured another landmark energy investment as global oil giant Shell announced a $2 billion Final Investment Decision (FID) for a new offshore gas project in the HI Field, OML 144, marking the country’s second major gas investment within 18 months.
The project, a Non-Associated Gas (NAG) development, is expected to deliver around 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) by 2028 roughly a third of the gas required for the Nigeria LNG Limited (NLNG) Train 7 expansion project.
With this latest FID, total upstream investment commitments in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector have now surpassed $8 billion since President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took office in 2023. The figure underscores renewed investor confidence driven by the administration’s sweeping energy sector reforms and fiscal incentives.
“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,” President Tinubu said in a statement released on Monday.
The Shell HI Field project follows the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas and Bonga North Deepwater projects, all part of the government’s strategic plan to unlock Nigeria’s vast gas potential for domestic and export markets. Together, the HI and Ubeta projects are expected to supply up to 15 percent of NLNG’s total feedgas requirements, covering Trains 1 to 7.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, described the milestone as “transformative,” noting that the projects would strengthen Nigeria’s LNG export reliability while boosting domestic LPG supply, foreign exchange earnings, and clean cooking access.
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“With the Ubeta FID and now the HI FID, we have secured the gas supply needed to make NLNG Train 7 not just possible, but transformative,” Verheijen said.
Shell’s Upstream President, Peter Costello, reaffirmed the company’s long-term commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector, highlighting that the new project would enhance Shell’s integrated gas portfolio and support Nigeria’s goal of becoming a stronger player in the global LNG market.
The HI gas field, discovered in 1985, is being developed under Presidential Directive 40, which introduced a competitive fiscal framework for onshore and shallow offshore gas projects.
Industry experts say the investment is a strong signal of confidence in Nigeria’s energy reforms — and a major step toward achieving President Tinubu’s vision of a gas-powered, export-driven economy.