- Shell approves $2bn gas project in Nigeria’s offshore field
- Project to boost LNG supply and reinforce global export ambitions
LAGOS, NIGERIA – Shell, through its Nigerian subsidiary, has approved a $2 billion final investment decision (FID) for the HI gas project offshore Nigeria, marking a major boost for the country’s liquified natural gas exports.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), in partnership with Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited, announced the decision on Tuesday. The development will supply 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day – about 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent – to Nigeria LNG (NLNG), where Shell holds a 25.6% interest.
Production from the project is expected to start before the end of the decade, the company said in a statement.
“Following recent investment decisions related to the Bonga deep-water development, today’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector, with a focus on Deepwater and Integrated Gas,” said Peter Costello, Shell’s Upstream President.
“This upstream project will help Shell grow our leading Integrated Gas portfolio, while supporting Nigeria’s plans to become a more significant player in the global LNG market.”
Boosting LNG capacity and reliability
The HI field, discovered in 1985, lies about 50 kilometres off Nigeria’s coast at a water depth of 100 metres. The project’s recoverable resources are estimated at 285 million barrels of oil equivalent (mmboe).
The move represents Nigeria’s largest oil and gas investment decision in the past 18 months, following approvals for the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas and Bonga North deep-water projects.
Presidential spokesman Bayo Onanuga said President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hailed the decision, describing it as a milestone in Nigeria’s energy transformation.
“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu welcomes the news of Shell’s $2 billion FID on a new gas project in the shallow offshore HI Field, in OML 144,” Onanuga said. “It marks yet another milestone in Nigeria’s journey to unlock its abundant gas resources for domestic and export use.”
Onanuga noted that the Ubeta and HI gas projects could together supply up to 15 percent of NLNG’s total feedgas requirements, supporting Trains 1 to 7 of the Bonny Island terminal.
Energy adviser Olu Arowolo Verheijen said the projects would enhance the reliability of Nigeria’s LNG exports and expand the supply of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) for domestic consumption.
“With the Ubeta FID and now the HI FID, Nigeria has secured the gas supply needed to make NLNG Train 7 not just possible, but transformative,” Verheijen said.
Strategic shift to offshore production
Energy analyst Iliyasu Gadu, a former NLNG staff member, said the project could help address the company’s feedstock challenges caused by onshore pipeline vandalism and community disruptions.
“NLNG has been having a lot of problems getting feedstock from onshore facilities due to pipeline vandalism and community interference,” Gadu told Allen Dreyfus. “This has often forced it to declare force majeures.”
He added that sourcing gas from offshore fields such as HI offers a more secure alternative for future expansions.
The HI gas project is part of Shell’s wider strategy to grow its global LNG volumes by 4–5% annually through 2030. It also aligns with Nigeria’s Presidential Directive 40, which created a more competitive fiscal framework for non-associated gas in onshore and shallow offshore fields.
With construction expected to begin soon, the project underscores Nigeria’s efforts to reposition itself as a reliable gas supplier to global markets — and Shell’s commitment to deepening its energy investments across Africa.
