President Bola Tinubu has hailed the $800 million Final Investment Decision reached on the Ima Gas Project, saying the development will help unlock Nigeria’s gas resources for industrial development, job creation and economic expansion.
The President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, disclosed this in a statement issued on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the project is being developed by Nigerian independent exploration and production company, AMNI International, in partnership with TotalEnergies. It is expected to deliver about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak production.
Located offshore across Oil Mining Leases 112 and 117, the Ima gas resource was discovered in 1973 but had remained undeveloped for over 50 years.
The FID announced on Wednesday is expected to trigger the development of the long-delayed resource, which could supply feedgas to Nigeria LNG Limited.
Tinubu said the project reflected the importance of establishing a predictable and competitive investment environment to attract capital into the country’s energy 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.”
He added, “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.”
The President noted that Nigeria had maintained one of Africa’s largest gas reserves for decades, while substantial portions of the resource remained untapped.
He said the administration’s gas strategy was designed to increase production while ensuring that the resource contributes directly to the economy through LNG exports and foreign exchange earnings, industrial feedstock, fertiliser and petrochemical production, improved electricity supply, and opportunities for Nigerian businesses and workers.
“Natural resources have value only when they are converted into opportunities for our people.
“Our goal is to ensure that Nigeria’s gas powers Nigerian prosperity,” the President said.
The Ima Gas Project becomes the fourth major gas project to reach FID since Tinubu took office, after the Iseni, Ubeta and HI projects.
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The Federal Government said the projects form part of its broader effort to attract fresh investment into the gas industry and transform the country’s gas resources into productive assets capable of creating employment, generating revenue and supporting economic activity.
Tinubu’s administration has also introduced reforms to tackle longstanding underinvestment in the oil and gas sector.
While the Petroleum Industry Act 2021 established a framework intended to support investment, a number of projects remained stalled because of fiscal and commercial constraints.
In 2024, the President approved a series of Presidential Directives developed by his team, led by the Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen. The measures were aimed at improving fiscal competitiveness, cutting costs and reducing the time required to complete contracting processes.
Verheijen said the development of the Ima project demonstrated the intended outcome of the reforms.
She stated, “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 added, “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.”
The project also underscores the increasing involvement of Nigerian firms in the energy value chain, with Nigerian-owned AMNI International holding a majority stake in the asset.
Nigerian financial institutions have arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing, while approximately 60 per cent of its workforce is expected to be drawn from host communities, including Bonny, Finima and Andoni in Rivers State.