Manny Ita
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu hosted a high-level delegation from Shell Plc, led by Global Chief Executive Officer Wael Sawan, at the State House in Abuja on Thursday, January 22, 2026, where the energy titan pledged a landmark $20 billion investment in the nation’s energy sector. The multi-billion dollar commitment is primarily centered on the development of the Bonga South West deep-offshore project, an initiative expected to peak at a production capacity of 220,000 barrels of oil per day while tapping into reserves estimated at 820 million barrels. This investment, which encompasses both capital expenditure for construction and long-term operating costs, is projected to revitalize domestic fabrication yards and generate thousands of jobs over a 30-year span.
In immediate response to the pledge, President Tinubu approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives specifically designed to accelerate the project toward a Final Investment Decision (FID) by 2027. The President clarified that these measures are not “blanket concessions” but are strictly “ring-fenced and investment-linked,” focused on driving new capital, incremental production, and robust local content delivery. The move follows a series of recent financial commitments by Shell in Nigeria, including a $5 billion investment in Bonga North and $2 billion in the HI shallow-water gas project, totaling nearly $7 billion in the last 13 months alone.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan attributed the company’s renewed confidence to the administration’s recent fiscal reforms and executive orders, noting that the current environment favors long-term corporate planning. Sawan stated, “Your leadership and your vision have created an investment climate over the last few years that… propelled us to invest, in particular, also as we compare to other investments around the world. Stability in today’s environment will honestly have a premium for corporates because we want to invest for 20, 30, 40 years.” Highlighting the strategic nature of the partnership, President Tinubu reaffirmed that the incentives are designed to ensure “strong local content delivery and in-country value addition” as the nation seeks to stabilize its economy through increased oil and gas output.
