TotalEnergies targets $750m gas project in Nigeria

French energy giant TotalEnergies could approve a $750 million gas project in Nigeria next year, indicating potential progress in the country’s bid to attract renewed investment in its hydrocarbon sector.

Senior Vice President of Africa, exploration and production at TotalEnergies, Mike Sangster made this known at a France-Nigeria business forum in Paris.

“We have another dry gas project called Ima which we hope to sanction next year for about $750 million,” he said.

The shallow-water project, developed in partnership with a local firm, aims to further enhance gas supply to the Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) facility.

Earlier this year, TotalEnergies pledged around $500 million to a joint venture with the state-owned Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited to develop the Ubeta onshore field.

With an expected output of 300 million cubic feet per day, this project is set to strengthen the gas supply to the Nigerian Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) plant.

Since taking office in May 2023, President Bola Tinubu has been addressing issues in the oil and gas sector, signing two executive orders this year to improve efficiency.

Nigeria is seeking to attract up to $10 billion in new investments for deep-water gas exploration through tax incentives and other measures outlined in a new policy framework.

“There’s still more to be done in terms of regulation, simplifying, accelerating the process, but we have appreciated some of the changes that have been made over the past year,” Sangster said.

They “have given us now the incentive or the motivation to go ahead and renew our investments in Nigeria so that we can stop the decline and start to increase production.”

Sangster advocated for a further easing of local content regulations to attract international contractors with expertise in deep-water projects back to Nigeria, noting that this would foster competition and revive investments that have been suspended.