Global energy major Shell Plc has signalled plans to invest up to $20 billion in Nigeria over the next few years, reflecting renewed confidence in the country’s oil and gas sector following recent policy and regulatory reforms.
The disclosure was made by the Group Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), Bayo Ojulari, after a high-level meeting between President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Shell’s global leadership, led by Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan, at the State House in Abuja.
Ojulari said the visit was significant, marking the first time Shell’s global chairman met President Tinubu. According to him, the engagement was also an opportunity for Shell to formally express appreciation for the executive orders introduced by the President early last year to improve Nigeria’s investment climate.
While acknowledging that the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) provided a solid foundation for reforms in the sector, Ojulari noted that additional incentives were necessary to keep Nigeria competitive in the increasingly global race for capital.
“The competition for investment is global,” he said, pointing to Africa, Guyana and parts of the Far East as regions continually refining policies to attract investors. “One of the great things Mr. President did was to announce executive orders that introduced additional incentives to attract investment.”
Ojulari explained that the policy shift has already yielded tangible results. Within the last 18 months, Shell completed three major milestones, starting with the divestment of its onshore joint venture assets to Renaissance. He said the successful completion of the transaction demonstrated the government’s commitment to allowing investors both to enter and exit the Nigerian market freely.
“That brought confidence to the international community, including Shell,” he said.
Following the divestment, Shell took a final investment decision (FID) of $5 billion on the Bonga North deepwater project and subsequently approved an additional $2 billion investment in a shallow-water gas development project.
“Overall, since the announcement of these incentives, Shell alone has invested over $7 billion,” Ojulari said, describing it as clear evidence of growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s economy.
He further revealed that during the meeting, Shell formally committed to pursuing new investment opportunities estimated at about $20 billion in the coming years, citing confidence in President Tinubu’s leadership, transparency and commitment to reforms.
Discussions also covered Shell’s next major development, the Bonga Southwest project, for which the company is working toward a final investment decision. Ojulari said the project would require close to $10 billion in capital expenditure, in addition to significant operating costs.
According to him, such large-scale investments have far-reaching economic benefits, including job creation, the revival of dormant fabrication yards and long-term employment opportunities over the 20 to 30-year lifespan typical of oil and gas projects.
“For many years, fabrication yards have been idle because there were no projects. Those yards will come back to life,” he said, adding that Nigerians would benefit from construction, maintenance, manpower and supply contracts over several decades.
Ojulari reaffirmed that NNPCL, as concession holder under Nigeria’s production-sharing contracts with international oil companies such as Shell, Chevron, ExxonMobil and Total, would continue to work closely with investors and relevant government agencies to develop credible and bankable proposals.
“Our responsibility is to be the conscience of the government and the conscience of Nigerians, ensuring that the assumptions and promises being made are correct and authentic,” he said, expressing optimism that continued presidential support would lead to more final investment decisions in the near future.
