President Bola Tinubu has announced an $800 million Final Investment Decision (FID) by AMNI International and TotalEnergies to finally develop the Ima Gas Field, a resource discovered in 1973 but left undeveloped for more than five decades.
The President, in a post on his verified X handle, @officialABAT, on Wednesday, said the investment marked an early outcome of reforms introduced by his administration to make Nigeria’s oil and gas sector more attractive to investors and accelerate the development of stranded assets.
According to him, the Ima Gas Project is expected to produce about 350 million cubic feet of gas per day at peak, with the output projected to supply about one-third of the gas required for the expansion of Nigeria LNG (NLNG).
The development represents the commercialisation of a gas discovery that has remained underground for over 50 years, with Tinubu stressing that the government’s objective was to move Nigeria’s vast natural resources from “potential to production”.
“The decisions we have taken to reposition Nigeria’s oil and gas sector are beginning to bear fruit,” the President said.
“Since assuming office, I have signed a series of Presidential Directives and Executive Orders to make investment in Nigeria more competitive, reduce the cost and time required to develop projects, provide greater certainty to investors and ensure that our natural resources deliver greater value to our people.”
Tinubu said one of the reforms introduced specific incentives aimed at unlocking onshore and shallow-water gas projects that had remained undeveloped for years.
“Today, we are seeing the result,” he said.
The President said AMNI, a Nigerian company, holds the majority interest in the project, while about 60 per cent of the development workforce is expected to be drawn from host communities.
He said the project would create opportunities for Nigerian engineers, technicians, contractors and businesses, while stimulating economic activity in host communities and increasing the country’s export earnings.
“For Nigerians, this means work for our engineers, technicians and contractors. It means opportunities for Nigerian businesses, jobs and economic activity in our host communities, and more export earnings for our country,” he said.
The announcement comes amid the Federal Government’s broader push to expand gas utilisation and attract investment into Nigeria’s energy sector.
The State House had previously reported that the administration was seeking to create a more stable fiscal and investment environment for the oil and gas industry, with NLNG officials telling the President in August that stability in the country’s fiscal environment was attracting further investment.
The Ima Gas Field has been associated with Total’s Nigerian operations for years, with historical company filings documenting development studies on the field as far back as the late 2000s.
Tinubu said the latest FID demonstrated the intended effect of the government’s investment reforms.
“This is what our reforms are intended to achieve, to move Nigeria’s resources from potential to production and translate them into jobs, incomes and opportunity for our people,” he said.
The President added: “We have more to unlock.”
