President Bola Tinubu has hailed the $800 million Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ima Gas Project, describing it as evidence that his administration’s reforms are unlocking decades-old gas resources and attracting fresh investment into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The project, being developed by Nigerian independent oil and gas company, AMNI International, in partnership with TotalEnergies, is expected to produce about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak production.
According to AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited, the Ima Gas Project has an estimated development cost of approximately $1.108 billion and holds independently confirmed gross reserves of approximately 1.28 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of non-associated gas. At plateau, the project is designed to produce approximately 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (MMscf/d) for a minimum of eight years.
Tinubu, in a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, said the development demonstrated the impact of reforms undertaken by his administration to make Nigeria’s oil and gas industry more attractive to investors.
The Ima gas resource, located offshore in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 112 and 117, was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for more than five decades despite its significant reserves and potential to supply feedgas to Nigeria LNG Limited.
The statement said the $800 million FID, announced on September 23, had now paved the way for the resource to be developed and deployed to support investment, industrialisation, employment and economic growth.
The Ima project is the fourth major gas development to reach FID since Tinubu assumed office, following the Iseni, Ubeta and HI projects.
‘For more than 50 years, the gas beneath Ima remained a resource with enormous potential, but potential alone does not create jobs, finance businesses or improve the lives of our people. Our responsibility has been to create the conditions that turn Nigeria’s natural resources into productive investments and economic opportunities.
‘The Final Investment Decision on Ima demonstrates what is possible when we provide investors with a competitive, predictable and enabling environment.
‘We are determined to unlock more of Nigeria’s gas resources to power our industries, expand our exports, create jobs and build lasting prosperity for our people,’ Tinubu said.
According to the statement, the project also underscores the growing role of Nigerian companies and financial institutions in financing and executing major developments in the country’s upstream petroleum industry.
AMNI International, a Nigerian-owned exploration and production company, holds a majority interest in the asset, while Nigerian financial institutions arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing.
About 60 per cent of the project’s workforce is also expected to be drawn from host communities, including Bonny, Finima and Andoni in Rivers State.
The statement said Tinubu had, since assuming office, prioritised reforms aimed at reversing years of underinvestment in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
It noted that while the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 provided an important foundation for the sector, several undeveloped projects still lacked the fiscal and commercial conditions required to make them viable for investment.
Consequently, the President in 2024 issued a series of directives developed by a team led by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, aimed at improving fiscal competitiveness, shortening contracting timelines and reducing project costs.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, said the Ima project demonstrated the practical outcome the reforms were designed to achieve.
‘The story of Ima is ultimately the story of what our reforms are designed to achieve. Nigeria has never lacked resources. The challenge has been creating the commercial and investment conditions required to move those resources from beneath the ground into projects that employ Nigerians, create opportunities for Nigerian businesses, generate revenues and support economic growth.
‘A gas discovery made in 1973 can only contribute to prosperity when somebody invests the capital to develop it, banks finance it, contractors build it, Nigerians work on it, and the gas is ultimately put to productive use. That is the transition we are seeing today,’ Verheijen said.
The Presidency said the Ima project was part of a broader strategy to convert Nigeria’s extensive gas reserves into productive economic assets rather than leave significant volumes undeveloped.
Under the administration’s gas strategy, increased production is expected to support liquefied natural gas exports and foreign exchange earnings, provide feedstock for industries, boost fertiliser and petrochemical production and support more reliable electricity supply.
The strategy is also expected to open opportunities for Nigerian businesses, contractors and workers across the gas value chain.
Tinubu said his administration’s objective was to ensure that the country’s natural resource endowments translated directly into economic opportunities and improved living standards for Nigerians.
‘Natural resources have value only when they are converted into opportunities for our people. Our goal is to ensure that Nigeria’s gas powers Nigerian prosperity,’ the President said.
Gas from the development is expected to supply approximately 30per cent of the feed gas requirement for Nigeria LNG’s Train 7, providing a significant long-term gas supply stream to the country’s expanding LNG infrastructure. First gas is targeted for October 2028.
The FID follows the completion of extensive technical, commercial and contractual work on the project, including Front-End Engineering Design (FEED) and the execution of key project agreements. The project will now progress into engineering, procurement and construction ahead of commissioning and first gas.
Commenting on the milestone, Chairman / CEO of AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited, Chief Tunde J. Afolabi, said: ‘The FID for the Ima Gas Project represents an important milestone for AMNI and reflects our continued commitment to the responsible development of Nigeria’s oil and gas resources.
‘Ima is a significant component of our long-term growth strategy and further strengthens AMNI’s evolution into a more diversified indigenous energy company. Importantly, the project demonstrates what can be achieved through sustained partnership, disciplined investment and a shared commitment to unlocking Nigeria’s gas potential.
‘As we move into the execution phase, our focus will remain on safe delivery, operational excellence and creating sustainable value for our partners, stakeholders and the Nigerian economy.’
Chief Afolabi also placed the decision in the wider context of Nigeria’s ability to attract long-term energy investment. He said major energy projects now compete for capital across multiple markets and that reaching FID in Nigeria sends a practical signal about the country’s continuing investment potential.
‘Capital is disciplined. Capital has choices. And major energy companies today have investment opportunities competing for funding across many parts of the world. When companies take an FID in Nigeria, it sends an important signal. It says that opportunities in this country can still be identified, structured, financed and developed successfully,’ he said.
He added that Nigeria’s substantial hydrocarbon resources would only translate into economic value where investment, technology and human capability can convert resources into production, requiring cooperation among government, regulators, international energy companies, indigenous operators, financiers, contractors, host communities and the workforce.
For AMNI, Afolabi said the Ima development also demonstrates the expanding role and capability of Nigerian independent companies in the country’s petroleum sector.
‘Indigenous participation should not simply mean ownership. It must increasingly mean capability. It must mean technical excellence. It must mean financial discipline. It must mean good governance,’ he said, adding that Nigerian organisations must be able to build partnerships with leading international energy companies based on mutual respect and complementary strengths.
He traced the current phase of the project to a meeting in Houston in May 2024 with TotalEnergies Chairman Patrick Pouyanné, when the parties signed Heads of Terms for the development. He said the handshake that followed the signing symbolised the trust and commitment behind the agreement and reflected the importance of relationships, credibility and keeping commitments in advancing major projects.
He said TotalEnergies brings international experience, technology and project execution capability, while AMNI contributes its experience as a Nigerian independent, knowledge of the operating environment, entrepreneurial commitment and a long-term stake in Nigeria’s success.
With FID now achieved, Afolabi said the focus shifts decisively to delivery. He said the project must be executed safely, responsibly and efficiently, with high standards of technical integrity and environmental stewardship, constructive engagement with host communities and meaningful participation by Nigerian businesses and professionals.
‘Ultimately, our success will not be measured by today’s photographs or speeches. It will be measured by what happens after today,’ he said.
The project also marks a new chapter in the long standing relationship between AMNI and TotalEnergies. Total, now TotalEnergies, entered into a Joint Venture with AMNI in 2005, acquiring a 40per cent working interest in OMLs 112 and 117, with AMNI remaining operator. The Ima Gas development builds on resources discovered alongside the original Ima oil accumulation and extends a partnership spanning more than two decades.
AMNI acquired the Ima licence in the early years of its operations and subsequently commenced appraisal and development activities, achieving first oil from the field in 1996. Since its establishment in 1993, AMNI has developed capabilities across seismic acquisition and interpretation, exploration and appraisal drilling, field development, production operations and offshore infrastructure. The Company has maintained continuous production for more than three decades.
Today, AMNI’s Nigerian portfolio contains combined resources of more than 60 million barrels of oil and nearly 4 trillion cubic feet of gas, providing a foundation for the Company’s next phase of oil and gas development.
The Ima Gas Project forms a key part of AMNI’s broader growth programme and its Road to 250 KBOE/d strategy, under which the Company is targeting production capacity of approximately 250,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day by 2031. Together with ongoing development activity at the Okoro Field and other planned projects, Ima is expected to contribute significantly to the expansion and diversification of AMNI’s production portfolio.
AMNI remains committed to Nigerian content, technical excellence, safety and environmental responsibility, with local participation embedded in the Company’s operating philosophy and the development of Nigerian capability across the energy value chain.
The Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Oil) Senator Heineken Lokpobiri urged the International Oil Companies (IOCs) and other operators to take shorter time to take their FIDs.
Speaking at the ceremony in Abuja, he said taking FIDs at a shorter period will be more beneficial to the industry.
The minister stressed that it was unreasonable to spend years waiting to take FIDs.
Lokpobiri said: ‘Let me also, you know, take the opportunity to say that, look, you are the experts. And I believe that if you can take FIDs within a shorter period, it will be better for the industry. I don’t see the reason why it would take you years to be able to get to FID.
‘This partnership, from what you said, took over two years, from the handshake, you know, in Houston, now over two years. I believe that going forward, I appeal to the industry that let’s try and see how we can negotiate these FIDs within a shorter period, you know, so that we can also, you know, get FIDs within a shorter period. These things are doable.’
Buttressing the possibility of taking the FID in a shorter time, the minister cited an instance of a firm that vowed to take its FID in November.
He said the issues of energy transition discouraged financiers from involving in oil and gas FIDs, noting that following the available statistics, oil and gas will still constitute over 50per cent of global energy for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, the Minister of State Petroleum Resources (Gas) Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo urged the joint venture to sustain momentum and work closely with government institutions to deliver the project on schedule.
He said with the FID and the expectation of the first gas in 2028, the push towards the target of President Tinubu of 12 BCE by 2030 is assured.
In his opening remarks, the TotalEnergies Managing Director, Mathieu Bouyer said the FID confirms that the partners are technically, commercially and legally set to invest in a new adventure.
He described IMA as a gigantic project that is over $600million investment. The TotalEnergies boss said the FID is a clear vote of confidence in Nigeria and its oil and gas industry.
‘It is a big project, it’s more than $600 million dollars of investment and a clear vote of confidence into Nigeria and its oil and gas industry, in its true confidence also in the potential of the oil and gas people of this country,’ he said.
The strength of the project, he said, is reflected also in its financing, acknowledging the seven financial partners as Zenith Bank, Access Bank, United Bank of Africa, GTB, Standard Bank, Standard Chartered Bank and First Bank.
Bouyer revealed that financing the project is 75 per from Nigerian banks, stressing that it is made of indigenous banks, contractors and financed by Nigerian institutions.
He said: ‘One particular thing about this financing is that it’s more than 75per cent from Nigerian banks, so it’s a Nigerian project made by Nigerian contractors and financed by Nigerian institutions, and I think it’s a very, very powerful project.’
Bouyer further described the project as being that of shallow waters on the front of Bonny Island.
According to him, it is eight kilometers offshore. It is designed to produce 350 million cubic meters per day.
He added that ‘That is 10 million cubic meters. It is a third broadly of the train seven of Nigerian LNG, so it shows the materiality of the investment that we are making today, and the first gas is anticipated to be in 2028, end of 2028. We are pushing for that.’
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) Mrs. Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan attributed the FID to the Executive Order of President Tinubu.
She said the possibility of the FID could not have been conceived five years ago.