Tinubu Bonga Southwest Aparo approval clears path for $20bn investment and a long-awaited final decision on Nigeria’s offshore oil project

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a targeted fiscal incentive package designed to unlock the long-delayed Bonga Southwest Aparo Project, a move expected to attract about $20bn in foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.

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The approval was announced on Tuesday by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, which said the decision clears a critical hurdle toward securing the long-awaited Final Investment Decision for the offshore development.

The Bonga South-West Aparo project is operated by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, a subsidiary of Shell plc, in partnership with other international oil firms and the national oil company.

According to NNPC, the presidential approval followed months of negotiations involving key stakeholders, including the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, and the Chief Executive Officer of Shell plc, Wael Sawan.

In a statement signed by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer of NNPC Limited, Andy Odeh, the company described the decision as a decisive step toward restoring investor confidence in Nigeria’s deepwater petroleum assets.

The fiscal framework approved by the president includes an enhanced production tax credit and the resolution of the 2021 dispute settlement agreement.

Officials said the measures are intended to create a competitive investment environment while protecting Nigeria’s long-term revenue interests.

Reacting to the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Bayo Ojulari, said the approval marked a turning point for a project that had remained stalled for nearly two decades.

“This approval is a testament to the president’s leadership, NNPC’s disciplined execution and our ability to structure complex, bankable transactions that deliver value for Nigeria,” Ojulari said.

“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.”

The Tinubu Bonga Southwest Aparo approval is expected to enable Nigeria’s first Final Investment Decision on a deepwater Production Sharing Contract asset since 2008, potentially signalling renewed interest from global investors in the country’s offshore oil sector.

Once operational, the project is projected to produce about 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 140 million standard cubic feet of gas daily, significantly boosting Nigeria’s hydrocarbon output.

Industry officials say the development could also generate more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs across the oil and gas value chain.

The project forms part of the Federal Government’s broader strategy to attract over $100bn in new investments into Nigeria’s energy sector by 2030, particularly in deepwater exploration, gas development and energy infrastructure.

Nigeria’s deepwater basins have historically been among the most productive in Africa, with fields such as the Bonga Oil Field, Erha Oil Field and Agbami Oil Field contributing significantly to national crude output.

However, new project approvals have slowed in recent years due to regulatory delays, rising costs and shifting global investment priorities.

Located offshore in the Niger Delta, the Bonga Southwest Aparo project is expected to build on the success of the original Bonga field, which began production in 2005.

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With the fiscal framework now secured, NNPC and its partners are expected to move toward the Final Investment Decision that will trigger the multi-billion-dollar capital investment needed to develop the field.