TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited and AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited have taken the final investment decision (FID) on the Ima Gas development project, with first gas expected by the end of 2028.
The final Investment decision was announced on Wednesday at a ceremony at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) welcomed the decision, describing it as evidence of what steady policy direction and committed investors can achieve in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, chief executive of NURPC, said the project’s development had been enabled by policy measures introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
“Today’s success is attributable to His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu,” Eyesan said.
“Years ago, we could not have conceived that today we will be sitting here to celebrate a project if he hadn’t given the executive orders.”
She said the commission would continue to remove regulatory obstacles and create an environment that enables investment in the upstream sector.
“As the chief regulator in the industry, we will enable business, we will unplug obstacles. The President has set the path for us, and we are determined to follow through,” Eyesan said.
The Ima offshore field was discovered in 1973 and is located in 8 to 10 metres of water off the coast of Rivers state.
The project is expected to supply about one-third of the feed gas required for Nigeria LNG’s Train 7 expansion.
AMNI, an indigenous Nigerian oil and gas company, holds a 60 percent interest in the field, while TotalEnergies holds the remaining 40 percent and is the operator.
At plateau, the field is projected to produce about 350 million standard cubic feet of dry gas per day.
First gas from the project is expected by the end of 2028.
Mathieu Bouyer, managing director of TotalEnergies in Nigeria, said the investment of more than $600 million represented a vote of confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
He said seven Nigerian financial institutions, including Zenith Bank and UBA, are providing about 77 percent of the project’s financing.
According to Bouyer, the project could create between $2 billion and $4 billion in value over its lifetime, depending on international oil and gas prices.
The FID marks a major step towards the development of the Ima field, which has remained undeveloped for decades despite its discovery in 1973.
