The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Oil), Heineken Lokpobiri, has asked oil and gas companies to reduce the time it takes to make Final Investment Decisions on projects.
Lokpobiri made this request in Abuja on Wednesday during the signing event for the $800 million Ima Gas Project. This project is being developed by the Nigerian company AMNI International and TotalEnergies.
The Ima project is being developed more than 50 years after the gas field was found in 1973. It is located offshore on OMLs 112 and 117 near Bonny Island in Rivers State. The project is expected to start producing gas in 2028.
TotalEnergies said that Ima will produce 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at its peak. This amount will supply one-third of the gas needed for the Nigeria LNG Train 7 expansion.
Lokpobiri said that the long time between discovering a field and making an investment decision is a problem for the industry. He encouraged companies to use methods.
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He said that quicker Final Investment Decisions will help Nigeria move projects into production. This will create jobs. Turn the country’s oil and gas resources into useful assets.
The minister also mentioned the reforms under President Bola Tinubu’s government. These include steps to improve regulatory certainty. These steps are helping to bring investment into the sector.
He also asked banks to take a bigger role in funding oil and gas projects. This is important as international investors look at the sector again.
The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, said the Ima FID supports the government’s Decade of Gas plan.
The project will use one platform connected by a 22-kilometre pipeline to Nigeria LNG. There will be no flaring and continuous methane monitoring.
