Nigeria: NNPC Targets $21bn From Bonga South-West Aparo Project

What the report says

Nigeria’s state oil company, NNPC Ltd., and partners in the OML 118 production sharing contract have signed addenda related to the contract and a dispute settlement agreement, according to a Daily Trust report distributed by AllAfrica. The parties include Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company, Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited. The agreements are tied to the Bonga South-West/Aparo deepwater project, which the companies say is moving closer to a final investment decision.

NNPC said the updated terms reflect fiscal and commercial conditions approved by the federal government for the project. In the company’s account, the arrangement is intended to support a more stable and competitive environment for major deepwater oil investment in Nigeria. The report also said the project has completed its pre-front-end engineering design stage, clearing a further technical and commercial step before front-end engineering design can begin, subject to partner and governance approvals.

The project is being presented as one of Nigeria’s largest planned deepwater developments. NNPC said it could attract between $15 billion and $21 billion in investment over its life and eventually reach peak output of about 175,000 barrels of oil per day and 140 million standard cubic feet of gas per day. More broadly, the development matters because it is being used as an example of how Nigeria hopes to turn policy changes into new upstream investment, though the final investment decision has not yet been announced.