Shell and Sunlink approve major LNG project in Nigeria

Image credit: Reuters

The investment underscores Shell's strategy to grow its global LNG business and strengthen its position in Nigeria despite years of challenges and after it divested its Nigerian onshore fields that were beset by spills and theft.

State-run oil firm NNPC owns 49% of Nigeria LNG, with Shell, at 25.6%, the second-biggest shareholder. Other shareholders of the LNG terminal are TotalEnergies and Eni.

Production from the HI field, discovered in 1985 and located about 50 kilometres offshore and 100 metres deep, is expected to begin before the end of this decade. It aligns with Shell's plans to increase global LNG volumes by an average of 4% to 5% annually until 2030.

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Shell's Nigeria unit holds a 40% interest in the project, while Sunlink Energies owns 60%.

“Following recent investment decisions related to the Bonga deep-water development, today’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector, with a focus on Deepwater and Integrated Gas,” Peter Costello, Shell’s upstream president, said in a statement.

Last month, Nigeria's oil regulator approved a $510m deal by TotalEnergies to sell its entire 12.5% interest in oil mining lease 118, which hosts the offshore Bonga oilfield, to the field's operators Shell and Eni's Agip.