The Federal Government has secured a major investment decision for the development of the Ima Gas Field, a discovery that has remained undeveloped for more than five decades, with TotalEnergies and Nigerian independent energy company AMNI International committing $800m to the project.
Located offshore on Oil Mining Leases 112 and 117 near Bonny Island in Rivers State, the project is expected to produce 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at plateau. The development is also projected to supply about one-third of the gas required for the expansion of Nigeria LNG’s Train 7 project.
President Bola Tinubu said the investment decision was evidence of the impact of measures introduced by his administration to make Nigeria’s oil and gas sector more attractive to investors. Tinubu said the Federal Government had issued a series of presidential directives and executive orders aimed at reducing the cost and time required to develop petroleum projects and providing greater certainty for investors.
He specifically pointed to incentives introduced to unlock long-delayed onshore and shallow-water gas developments, saying the Ima project demonstrated the outcome of those reforms. “Today, we are seeing the result. AMNI International and TotalEnergies have taken an $800 million Final Investment Decision to develop the Ima Gas Field, discovered in 1973 and left underground for more than 50 years,” Tinubu said.
The President said the government’s objective was to transform Nigeria’s natural resources into productive assets that would support industrialisation, employment and economic growth.
TotalEnergies, which operates the project with a 40 per cent interest, holds the development alongside AMNI International, which owns the remaining 60 per cent.The project will be developed through a single offshore platform connected to Nigeria LNG by a 22-kilometre pipeline, with first gas production targeted for 2028.
Speaking at the FID ceremony in Abuja, TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Managing Director, Mathieu Bouyer, said the investment represented a vote of confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Bouyer put TotalEnergies’ investment in the project at more than $600m and credited recent government reforms, particularly those focused on the non-associated gas sector, with helping to make the development possible.
He said the project would also provide significant opportunities for Nigerian companies, with local contractors expected to handle all four major project packages.
According to Bouyer, more than 60 per cent of the work carried out locally would involve workers from communities around the project, creating opportunities in employment, contracting and technical skills development. The project has also been designed with measures aimed at reducing emissions. TotalEnergies said the offshore platform would be powered from shore, while the development would have no routine flaring and would feature permanent methane detection and monitoring systems.
AMNI Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Tunde Afolabi, said the FID fulfilled a commitment made by the two companies when they signed Heads of Terms in Houston in May 2024. Afolabi said the decision demonstrated that Nigeria could attract long-term investment when the right conditions were created, but stressed that successful execution would now depend on safety, cost and schedule control, environmental responsibility, Nigerian content and engagement with host communities.
The Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, also credited the government’s reforms with helping to unlock the project. Eyesan pledged that the commission would continue working to remove regulatory obstacles and create an environment that supports investment in the upstream petroleum sector.
The Ima development is the fourth major gas project to move into execution as Nigeria seeks to increase production and strengthen gas supplies for domestic and export markets. The project is expected to play a significant role in supporting Nigeria LNG’s Train 7 expansion, which will increase liquefaction capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes.
TotalEnergies said gas from Ima would provide about one-third of the gas needed for the expansion.With the investment decision now secured, work will proceed towards the targeted 2028 first gas production, bringing into development a field discovered more than 50 years ago.