President Bola Tinubu has clinched a landmark $2 billion offshore gas investment agreement with Shell for the development of the HI Field (OML 144), marking a fresh milestone in Nigeria’s energy sector. 

According to Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, the HI gas field project is expected to deliver around 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day (mmscf/d) by 2028. He noted this volume would cover almost one-third of the feedstock required for NLNG’s Train 7 expansion. 

This latest Final Investment Decision (FID) takes Nigeria’s cumulative upstream investment commitments under Tinubu’s administration past $8 billion, according to government sources.  It is the third major FID approved in the last 18 months, following the Ubeta non-associated gas project and the Bonga North deepwater development. 

The HI Field was first discovered in 1985, and lies around 50 kilometers offshore, in waters about 100 meters deep. The project is a joint venture between Sunlink Energies (60 %) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo, 40 %).  Plans include a wellhead platform, four wells, pipelines to onshore Bonny, and gas processing to feed into NLNG infrastructure. 

President Tinubu welcomed the announcement, saying it underscores confidence in his administration’s reforms and signals Nigeria is “fully open for business.”  He reiterated that his government has introduced fiscal incentives, streamlined regulation, reduced contracting costs, and shortened approval timelines to revive investor confidence. 

Olu Arowolo Verheijen, Special Adviser on Energy, called the HI and Ubeta investments “transformative,” noting they lay the foundation for Train 7 and will boost both export capacity and domestic gas supply. 

From Shell’s side, Upstream President Peter Costello described the investment as part of their long-term commitment to Nigeria’s deepwater and integrated gas strategy, reinforcing the company’s role in global LNG expansion. 

As the ink dries on the HI Field deal, Nigeria enters a new phase in its energy trajectory—one balancing domestic needs, export ambition, and investor expectations.