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President Bola Tinubu has approved targeted incentives to unlock Shell’s long-delayed $5bn Bonga South-West deep-offshore oil project. He also directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the gazetting of the incentives in line with Nigeria’s existing legal and fiscal frameworks.
Tinubu gave the approval on Wednesday while receiving a Shell delegation led by its Global Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, at the State House, Abuja, on Thursday.
The President’s Special Adviser on Media and Public Communication, Sunday Dare, announced the approval in a statement on Thursday titled: ‘President Tinubu approves targeted incentives to unlock jobs, FX inflows from Shell’s Bonga Southwest Project and other deep offshore projects.’
The Bonga Southwest project, located approximately 120 kilometres offshore Nigeria in water depths exceeding 1,000 metres, has been stalled for over a decade due to fiscal disagreements between the Federal Government and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company and its joint venture partners.
The project, estimated to cost over $5bn, is expected to produce about 150,000 barrels of oil per day at peak capacity and holds significant potential for gas production, experts say.
Previous administrations struggled to reach an agreement with Shell on the fiscal terms for the project, with the oil giant seeking incentives to make the capital-intensive deep-water development commercially viable amid declining global oil prices and Nigeria’s challenging investment climate.
Announcing the breakthrough, Tinubu said the approved incentives are “disciplined, targeted, and globally competitive,” designed to attract new capital without undermining government revenues.
He stated, “These incentives are not blanket concessions. They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital and incremental production, strong local content delivery, and in-country value addition. My expectation is clear: Bonga Southwest must reach a Final Investment Decision within the first term of this administration.”
Tinubu directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the gazetting of the incentives in line with Nigeria’s existing legal and fiscal frameworks, including the Petroleum Industry Act 2021.
The President emphasised the strategic importance of the project to Nigeria’s economy, noting its potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, generate significant foreign exchange inflows, and deliver sustained government revenues over its lifespan.
He added that the project would deepen Nigerian participation in offshore engineering, fabrication, logistics, and energy services. Tinubu reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty, and speed, noting that these reforms are critical to restoring investor confidence and positioning Nigeria as a preferred destination for large-scale energy investment.
He revealed that Shell and its partners have invested nearly $7bn in Nigeria in the past 13 months, particularly in the Bonga North and HI projects, describing this as evidence that the country’s economic and energy-sector reforms are yielding results.
Responding, Shell CEO Wael Sawan said Nigeria’s investment climate has improved remarkably under the Tinubu administration, adding that the company is increasingly confident in Nigeria as a destination for long-term investment.
The Bonga field, operated by Shell, commenced production in 2005 and was Nigeria’s first deep-water development
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