Tinubu Approves Fiscal Incentives to Unlock $20bn Bonga Deepwater Project

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a fiscal incentive package aimed at unlocking the long-delayed Final Investment Decision (FID) for the Bonga Southwest Aparo (BSWA) Deepwater Project.

The approval is expected to attract approximately $20 billion in foreign direct investment and revive large-scale offshore oil investments in Nigeria.

According to a statement issued by Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, the initiative is designed to address long-standing fiscal and commercial challenges that stalled the project for nearly two decades.

The development, operated by Shell plc through its Nigerian deepwater subsidiary, is projected to produce about 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day and 140 million standard cubic feet of gas daily when fully operational.

The presidential approval followed months of technical and commercial engagements involving the national oil company, the Nigeria Revenue Service, the President’s Special Adviser on Energy Olu Verheijen, and the global leadership of Shell, including its Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan.

The oil company said the decision represents a milestone in Nigeria’s efforts to attract strategic investments and expand deepwater production capacity.

Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC, Bayo Ojulari, described the approval as a major breakthrough for the oil and gas sector.

He noted that the project had remained stalled for nearly two decades due to fiscal and commercial uncertainties but said the new approval reflects government commitment to unlocking strategic energy investments.

Ojulari added that the development highlights the role of partnerships with international oil companies in unlocking Nigeria’s hydrocarbon resources.

With the presidential approval secured, project partners are expected to move towards the formal Final Investment Decision, which will trigger full-scale capital deployment for the offshore development.

The Bonga Southwest Aparo project is expected to become the first deepwater Final Investment Decision on a Production Sharing Contract asset in Nigeria since 2008.

NNPC estimates that the project will generate more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs during construction and operational phases.