President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the gazetting of targeted, investment-linked incentives to support Shell’s proposed Bonga South West deep-offshore oil project and other similar offshore developments, as part of efforts to boost job creation and foreign-exchange inflows.
According to a statement issued by the State House, the President directed his Special Adviser on Energy, Mrs. Olu Verheijen, to facilitate the formal gazette of the incentives in line with Nigeria’s existing legal and fiscal frameworks.
Speaking while receiving a Shell delegation led by its Global Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Wael Sawan, President Tinubu said the incentives were carefully structured to be disciplined, targeted and globally competitive, aimed at attracting new capital without eroding government revenues.
“These incentives are not blanket concessions,” the President was quoted as saying. “They are ring-fenced and investment-linked, focused on new capital and incremental production, strong local content delivery and in-country value addition. My expectation is clear: Bonga South West must reach a Final Investment Decision within the first term of this administration.”
President Tinubu described the Bonga South West project as strategically important to Nigeria’s economy, noting its potential to create thousands of direct and indirect jobs, generate substantial foreign-exchange inflows and deliver sustained government revenues over the life of the project. He added that the development would also deepen Nigerian participation in offshore engineering, fabrication, logistics and energy services.
The President reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to policy stability, regulatory certainty and accelerated decision-making, stressing that these reforms are essential to restoring investor confidence and positioning Nigeria as a preferred destination for large-scale energy investments.
He further disclosed that Shell and its partners had invested nearly US$7 billion in Nigeria over the past 13 months, particularly in the Bonga North and HI projects, describing the scale of investment as evidence that ongoing economic and energy-sector reforms are yielding results.
In his remarks, Mr. Sawan said Nigeria’s investment climate had improved significantly under the Tinubu administration, adding that Shell’s confidence in the country as a destination for long-term investment continues to grow.
The Shell delegation included senior executives from the company’s global and Nigerian leadership.
