Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited has secured President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s approval for a $20 billion final investment in the Bonga Southwest Aparo deepwater project.
The state-owned oil firm spokesperson, John Odey, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.
The project is estimated to attract about $20 billion in foreign direct investment and position Nigeria for deepwater production.
The presidential approval comes after months of technical and commercial negotiations involving NNPC Limited as the concessionaire, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, and the Shell CEO, Mr. Wael Sawan.
Commenting on the development, the Group Chief Executive Officer of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari, said the approval is a testament to President Tinubu’s leadership in the oil sector.
“This approval is a testament to the President’s leadership, NNPC’s disciplined execution, and our ability to structure complex, bankable transactions that deliver value for Nigeria. For nearly two decades, the Bonga Southwest project remained stalled. Today, under President Tinubu’s reform-driven leadership and through NNPC’s sustained advocacy, we have broken that logjam. This is what partnership, persistence, and policy clarity can achieve.”
Ojulari further stated, “This milestone further affirms NNPC’s commitment, under the President’s leadership, to unlocking Nigeria’s vast energy potential through partnerships, disciplined innovation, and execution excellence.”
