President Bola Tinubu has approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support Shell’s proposed Bonga South West deep-offshore oil project and other similar offshore developments in the country.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued Thursday by the Special Adviser to the President on Media & Public Communication, Sunday Dare, after the Shell delegation visited Mr Tinubu at the state house.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support the proposed Bonga South West deep-offshore oil project by Shell and its partners,” the statement read.
It said the President also directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the gazette of the incentives in line with Nigeria’s existing legal and fiscal frameworks.
Nigerian gov’t gazettes incentives to fast-track Shell’s Bonga South West oil project. The Bonga field is Nigeria’s first deepwater oil project, having achieved first oil in 2005. It has the capacity to produce up to 225,000 b/d of crude and 150 MMcf/d of natural gas and is located in 1,000 meters of water, around 120 km south of the banks of the Niger Delta.
Receiving a Shell delegation led by its Global Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, Mr Tinubu said the incentives were deliberately structured to attract new capital while protecting government revenues.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions,” the President said. “They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital and incremental production, strong local content delivery, and in-country value addition.”
He added that the government expects the Bonga South West project to reach a Final Investment Decision (FID) within the first term of his administration.
Mr Tinubu described the project as strategic to Nigeria’s economy, noting that it has the potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, boost foreign-exchange inflows, and generate sustained government revenues over its lifespan.
According to him, the project would also deepen Nigerian participation in offshore engineering, fabrication, logistics, and energy services.
The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty, and speed of execution, stressing that these measures are critical to restoring investor confidence and positioning Nigeria as a preferred destination for large-scale energy investments.
“$7 billion invested in Nigeria”
The Nigerian leader further disclosed that Shell and its partners have invested nearly $7 billion in Nigeria over the past 13 months, particularly in the Bonga North and HI projects.
He described the investments as evidence that the administration’s economic and energy-sector reforms are yielding results.
In his remarks, Mr Sawan said Nigeria’s investment climate has improved significantly under the Tinubu administration, adding that Shell is increasingly confident in the country as a destination for long-term investment.
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Members of the Shell delegation included senior executives from the company’s global and Nigerian leadership.
Nigeria has embarked on a deliberate effort to revamp its energy sector by leveraging its vast resources to achieve energy security, economic growth, and sustainable development, amid persistent challenges such as regulatory coordination and financing gaps.
