President Bola Tinubu has approved a new regulatory and fiscal framework for offshore oil and gas projects, his office said on Tuesday, a move the government says could attract up to $50 billion in investment and revive long-delayed developments.
Nigeria has struggled in recent years to attract new upstream oil investment amid regulatory uncertainty, high project costs and competition from other oil-producing jurisdictions.
Presidential spokesperson Bayo Onanuga said the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives replaces project-specific negotiations with a rules-based system under a new tax remission order designed to provide investor certainty and strengthen Nigeria’s competitiveness for global capital.
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The government said the framework would support a new wave of offshore projects, starting with Shell’s long-delayed $10 billion Bonga South West project, which is expected to reach a final investment decision in 2027.
The approval also enables state oil firm NNPC Ltd to amend eligible production-sharing contracts with producers while requiring qualifying projects to prioritise local execution where feasible, boosting jobs and supply chains.