President Bola Tinubu has welcomed the $800 million Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ima Gas Project, describing it as another milestone in efforts to unlock Nigeria’s gas resources for investment, industrialisation, job creation and economic growth.
The project is being developed by Nigerian independent energy company AMNI International in partnership with TotalEnergies and is expected to produce about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak.
Located offshore in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 112 and 117, the Ima gas resource was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for more than five decades.
Despite its reserves and potential to provide feed gas for Nigeria LNG Limited, the resource had remained undeveloped until the FID announced on September 23.
The Ima development becomes the fourth major gas project to reach FID since Tinubu assumed office, following the Iseni, Ubeta and HI projects.
The President said the latest investment demonstrated the potential of reforms aimed at creating a more competitive and predictable environment for investors in Nigeria’s oil and gas sector.
“For more than fifty years, the gas beneath Ima remained a resource with enormous potential, but potential alone does not create jobs, finance businesses or improve the lives of our people.
“Our responsibility has been to create the conditions that turn Nigeria’s natural resources into productive investments and economic opportunities,” Tinubu said.
He added that the project showed what could be achieved when investors were provided with an enabling environment.
“The Final Investment Decision on Ima demonstrates what is possible when we provide investors with a competitive, predictable and enabling environment.
“We are determined to unlock more of Nigeria’s gas resources to power our industries, expand our exports, create jobs and build lasting prosperity for our people,” he said.
Since assuming office, the Tinubu administration has prioritised reforms aimed at addressing years of underinvestment in the oil and gas industry.
While the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 provided a regulatory foundation for the sector, several projects remained undeveloped because of fiscal and commercial challenges.
In 2024, the President issued a series of directives developed by a team led by the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, aimed at improving fiscal competitiveness, shortening contracting timelines and reducing project costs.
Verheijen said the Ima project illustrated the objectives of the administration’s reforms.
“The story of Ima is ultimately the story of what our reforms are designed to achieve. Nigeria has never lacked resources. The challenge has been creating the commercial and investment conditions required to move those resources from beneath the ground into projects that employ Nigerians, create opportunities for Nigerian businesses, generate revenues and support economic growth,” she said.
She added that the gas discovery made more than five decades ago could only generate economic benefits through investment, financing, construction and productive use.
“A gas discovery made in 1973 can only contribute to prosperity when somebody invests the capital to develop it, banks finance it, contractors build it, Nigerians work on it, and the gas is ultimately put to productive use. That is the transition we are seeing today,” Verheijen said.
The project also highlights increasing Nigerian participation in the country’s energy industry, with indigenous company AMNI International holding a majority interest in the asset.
Nigerian financial institutions have arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing, while about 60 per cent of the project workforce is expected to come from host communities, including Bonny, Finima and Andoni in Rivers State.
Nigeria has one of Africa’s largest gas resource bases, but significant volumes have remained undeveloped over the years.
The Federal Government’s gas strategy is therefore focused on expanding production while increasing the use of natural gas for LNG exports, industrial feedstock, fertiliser and petrochemical production, power generation and other economic activities.
“Natural resources have value only when they are converted into opportunities for our people,” Tinubu said.
“Our goal is to ensure that Nigeria’s gas powers Nigerian prosperity.”
