Shell Commits $2 Billion to Nigeria’s Gas Sector with New Offshore Project

Nigeria’s gas sector has received a significant boost as global energy giant Shell announced a $2 billion investment in the development of the HI Field, a shallow offshore Non-Associated Gas project located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 144.

The announcement was made in a statement released on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy.

According to the Presidency, the HI Field project is expected to deliver around 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) starting in 2028. This marks Nigeria’s second major gas investment in just 18 months and reflects growing global confidence in the country’s oil and gas sector under President Tinubu’s administration.

With this new project, total upstream investment commitments through Final Investment Decisions (FIDs) have now surpassed $8 billion since President Tinubu took office in 2023.

Reacting to the development, President Bola Tinubu hailed the investment as further proof of his administration’s energy sector reforms and Nigeria’s rising appeal to international investors.

“This major FID announcement by Shell — their second within a year — is a strong endorsement of our comprehensive reform initiatives and a clear message to the global community that Nigeria is fully open for business and investment,” President Tinubu stated.

The HI gas project, originally discovered in 1985, is expected to supply nearly one-third of the feedgas required for the Nigeria LNG Train 7 project, which will expand the country’s LNG production capacity by 8 million metric tonnes per annum — a 35% increase over the current output.