Nigeria’s deepwater oil projects are now delivering competitive returns, with the country’s position among global oil producers improving significantly, the Presidency announced.
According to Mrs. Olu Verheijen, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Energy, Nigeria has moved from being in the bottom quartile of 13 indexed countries to the top three for deepwater oil competitiveness.
In a keynote address at an Executive Session of the Energy Institute and the National Association of Petroleum Explorationists (NAPE) in Abuja, Verheijen revealed that Nigeria’s deepwater gas sector has also seen a dramatic transformation.
For the first time in the country’s history, Nigeria now has a fiscal framework for deepwater gas, which had previously been absent.
Verheijen attributed these achievements to the series of major reforms in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector initiated under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
These reforms aim to improve the fiscal attractiveness of Nigeria’s energy sector and ease the process for businesses operating within it. “The reforms targeted actual bottlenecks and real projects in the investment pipelines,” Verheijen noted.
One of the key milestones in Nigeria’s energy sector came in April 2024 when the Final Investment Decision (FID) was reached on the Ubeta Non-Associated Gas project, a half-billion-dollar initiative that will unlock economic opportunities for the nation.
The Ubeta field, which was discovered in 1965, had been underutilized for decades. With the new fiscal framework and investment in deepwater infrastructure, the field is now poised to contribute significantly to Nigeria’s oil and gas output, bringing prosperity to many Nigerian lives and businesses, Verheijen said.
Looking ahead, Verheijen highlighted the vast potential for growth in Nigeria’s deepwater sector, particularly in terms of international financing.
She disclosed that Nigeria is positioned to tap into up to $90 billion in financing available for deepwater projects globally. International Oil Companies (IOCs) already operating in Nigeria are expected to play a crucial role in this process.
“Accessing just 20 percent of this global financing will be more than enough to bring five major deepwater projects on-stream, unlocking 1.3 billion barrels of oil equivalent,” Verheijen explained.
These projects, once operational, are expected to have a transformative impact on Nigeria’s energy production and export potential.
Nigeria is also on the verge of its first greenfield deepwater development since the launch of the Egina project in 2013. The country is gearing up for its next FID, with expectations that the investment momentum will accelerate significantly as the country moves toward 2025.
Verheijen emphasized that the energy reforms under President Tinubu’s leadership are already proving to be a success.
She expressed confidence that the challenges faced by Nigeria’s energy sector are not insurmountable and can be addressed through continued reform and collaboration with global industry players.
As Nigeria continues to strengthen its position in the global deepwater oil market, the country’s energy future looks increasingly promising, thanks to the strategic reforms set in motion by the Tinubu administration.
