President Bola Tinubu has achieved another major milestone in his administration’s push to attract foreign investment into Nigeria’s energy sector, as global oil giant Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) announced a $2 billion investment to develop a major offshore gas project.
According to a statement from the Presidency on Monday, the deal — known as the HI Gas Project — marks a significant boost to Nigeria’s ambition of becoming a leading player in the global gas market. The project, located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 144, is expected to produce about 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when completed.
The announcement follows a series of economic and policy reforms introduced by President Tinubu’s administration aimed at improving the investment climate, reducing bureaucratic bottlenecks, and ensuring transparency in the energy sector. Officials say these measures have restored confidence among international oil companies and positioned Nigeria as a competitive destination for capital inflow.
“This is a testament to the confidence that international investors now have in Nigeria under President Tinubu’s leadership,” Presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale said in a statement. “The administration’s commitment to fiscal and regulatory reforms in the oil and gas industry is yielding tangible results.”
Shell’s final investment decision (FID) on the HI Gas Project comes barely a year after similar multibillion-dollar commitments by other energy giants, including TotalEnergies and Chevron, bringing total upstream investments secured under the Tinubu administration to over $8 billion in 18 months.
Industry experts say the project will not only expand Nigeria’s gas reserves but also provide feedstock for domestic industries and the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) Train 7 project. The development is also expected to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, boost government revenue, and strengthen the country’s energy transition agenda.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, hailed the development as a “turning point for Nigeria’s gas sector,” noting that the project aligns with the administration’s Decade of Gas Initiative, which seeks to harness natural gas for economic growth, power generation, and export.
“This investment reflects growing investor confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry,” Ekpo said. “It will accelerate our drive to monetize gas resources, enhance domestic supply, and contribute to global energy stability.”
Analysts believe the HI Gas Project could become one of the largest offshore gas developments in West Africa once operational. Construction is expected to commence after all regulatory and environmental approvals are finalized, with first gas anticipated in 2028.
The Tinubu administration has made unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential a central pillar of its economic recovery strategy, emphasizing gas as the country’s transition fuel and a driver of industrialization.
With the Shell project now underway, stakeholders say Nigeria is taking a bold step toward securing its place as Africa’s gas powerhouse — and proving that policy consistency and investor confidence remain the lifeblood of economic transformation.
