​In a bid to position Nigeria as Africa’s primary deepwater energy hub, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has enacted a transformative fiscal and regulatory reform aimed at mobilizing up to $50 billion in new upstream investments.
​The policy shift was formally announced on Tuesday evening, August 11, 2026, from the State House in Abuja in a statement released by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy.
​Promulgated under the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, the new directive dismantles Nigeria’s historical, project-by-project negotiation process. In its place, the administration has established a standardized, rules-based fiscal framework with predefined eligibility standards and tax remissions.
​This structural transition aims to give global investors clear long-term visibility, aligning Nigeria’s terms with competing deepwater jurisdictions across West Africa and Latin America.
​The reform builds directly upon high-level consultations between President Tinubu and Shell plc Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan, translating bilateral talks into a comprehensive industry-wide policy. The immediate anchor for this framework will be the long-delayed $10 billion Bonga South West deepwater development.
NNPC Limited, operating as the state counterparty under existing Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), has been authorized to execute necessary contractual amendments to operationalize the new tax terms.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, emphasized that qualifying projects must maximize in-country execution, spanning fabrication, engineering, and marine logistics—wherever commercially feasible to build domestic industrial capacity.
The architecture was co-designed by key state organs, including the Federal Ministries of Justice, Finance, and Petroleum Resources; the Nigeria Revenue Service (FIRS); the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC); and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB).
​In his closing remarks within the statement, President Tinubu emphasized that investment certainty, rather than raw resource wealth defines global energy competitiveness:
“The countries that attract long-term investment are not necessarily those with the greatest natural resources. They are the ones that provide the greatest certainty. This reform reflects our determination to build an investment environment defined by clear rules, strong institutions, and enduring partnerships.”
