- President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a fiscal incentive package to unlock the long-delayed Bonga Southwest Aparo Project.
- The project could attract about $20 billion in foreign investment and boost Nigeria’s oil production once investors reach a Final Investment Decision.
Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a targeted fiscal incentive package to unlock the long-delayed Bonga Southwest Aparo Project. The decision could attract about $20 billion in foreign direct investment into Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited announced the approval on Tuesday, March 11. The move paves the way for the project’s Final Investment Decision, which investors delayed for nearly two decades.
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company operates the Bonga Southwest Aparo project. The company is a subsidiary of Shell plc. NNPC and other international oil companies partner in the development. NNPC said stakeholders held months of negotiations before securing the approval. Participants included the Federal Inland Revenue Service, the President’s Special Adviser on Energy Olu Verheijen and Shell CEO Wael Sawan.
In a statement, NNPC spokesperson Andy Odeh described the approval as a step toward restoring investor confidence in Nigeria’s deepwater petroleum assets. The fiscal framework introduces an enhanced production tax credit. It also resolves the 2021 dispute settlement agreement. These measures create a more competitive environment for investors while protecting Nigeria’s long-term revenue.
NNPC Group Chief Executive Officer Bashir Bayo Ojulari said the approval represents a turning point for the project. He said the decision reflects policy clarity and sustained collaboration between government and industry partners. According to him, the administration’s reform agenda helped unlock a project that investors had delayed for nearly 20 years.
NNPC said the Bonga Southwest Aparo development could become Nigeria’s first Final Investment Decision on a deepwater Production Sharing Contract asset since 2008. The project could renew investor interest in offshore exploration.
Once operational, the project will produce about 150,000 barrels of crude oil per day. It will also supply about 140 million standard cubic feet of gas daily.
Developers expect the project to create more than 5,000 direct and indirect jobs across the oil and gas value chain. Officials say the initiative forms part of the Federal Government’s strategy to attract large-scale investment into the energy sector. Authorities aim to mobilise more than $100 billion in energy investments by 2030.
Nigeria’s deepwater basins remain among the most productive in Africa. Fields such as the Bonga Oil Field, Erha Oil Field and Agbami Oil Field contribute significantly to national production.
However, regulatory delays, rising costs and shifting global investment priorities have slowed new offshore projects in recent years.
The Bonga Southwest Aparo field lies offshore in the Niger Delta. The development will build on the success of the original Bonga field, which began production in 2005. With the fiscal framework in place, NNPC and its partners now plan to move toward the Final Investment Decision. That step will unlock the multi-billion-dollar capital investment required to develop the offshore field.