News Investigators/ The Federal Government has described the 800 million dollars Final Investment Decision (FID) on the IMA Gas Development Project as a strong indication of renewed investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
The s of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil) and (Gas), Heineken Lokpobiri and Ekperikpe Ekpo, respectively, said this in their separate remarks on Wednesday in Abuja at the IMA Joint Ventures Gas Field Development Project FID signing.
The News Agency Nigeria (NAN) reports that the project is being developed by the AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited, with a 60 per cent interest and Totalenergies E&P Nigeria Limited, with a 40 per cent interest and operatorship.
The IMA field is located offshore Nigeria (OMLs 112 and 117) in water depths of eight-10 metres and will be connected to the existing BNAG plant on Bonny Island through an 18-inch, 23-kilometre multiphase pipeline.
The development will provide feed gas to Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), supporting the country’s ambition to expand LNG capacity and reinforce Nigeria’s position as a leading gas and LNG supplier.
IMA is expected to deliver an average of 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscf/d) at peak equivalent to more than 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day and approximately one-third of the gas supply requirement of NLNG Train seven.
At the FID signing, Lokpobiri said the development reflected the impact of the federal government reforms, particularly the improved regulatory and fiscal environment created under the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
”President Bola Tinubu’s reforms are working. Nigeria is now one of the most attractive investment destinations in the world and I want to see more and more FIDs like this,” he said.
He noted that Nigeria had experienced a prolonged period of limited investment in the oil and gas industry due to concerns over regulatory and fiscal uncertainty.
According to him, the reforms have created a more stable and globally competitive investment environment making Nigeria attractive to international investors.
The minister commended TotalEnergies EP Nigeria and AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Ltd. for reaching the FID stage, saying he expected more projects to follow within shorter timelines.
Lokpobiri also urged Nigerian banks to increase financing for oil and gas projects, saying concerns over the global energy transition should not discourage investment in the sector.
He said oil and gas would remain an important component of the global energy mix for the foreseeable future, urging financial institutions to have confidence in financing viable energy projects.
The minister further called on industry players to shorten the period between project conception and FID, noting that faster investment decisions would accelerate development and production.
Also speaking, Ekpo said the IMA project represented a vote of confidence in Nigeria’s gas sector and demonstrated the potential of the country’s gas resources to support economic transformation.
He said the federal government was positioning natural gas to drive power generation, industrialisation, manufacturing, fertiliser production, petrochemicals, transportation and clean cooking under the Decade of Gas initiative.
According to him, the project demonstrates how Nigeria’s gas resources can be converted into bankable investments through collaboration among government, regulators and industry operators.
Ekpo said the federal government remained committed to maintaining a stable, predictable and investment-friendly framework through the PIA and targeted incentives.
He urged the joint venture partners to sustain the momentum and work with relevant government agencies to deliver the project on schedule.
The minister said the project was expected to create opportunities for Nigerian companies, jobs, skills development and technology transfer, while strengthening the domestic energy industry.
He said the expected delivery of first gas from the project in 2028 would contribute to the federal government’s target of raising gas production to 12 billion cubic feet per day by 2030.
He assured investors that the Ministry of Petroleum Resources would continue to support projects capable of accelerating gas development and driving sustainable economic growth.
“The partners’ FID marks the transition of the project from the development and financing stage to execution, with first gas expected in 2028,” he said.
NAN
