Nigeria’s President Bola Tinubu has approved targeted fiscal incentives to trigger the Final Investment Decision for the Bonga Southwest Aparo deepwater project, unlocking an estimated $20 billion in foreign direct investment. The move ends nearly two decades of stalled progress on what will be the first FID on a Nigerian deepwater Production Sharing Contract asset since 2008.
- Operator: Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), partnered by all IOCs active in Nigeria; NNPC Limited acts as concessionaire.
- The fiscal package includes an enhanced Production Tax Credit and resolution of a 2021 dispute settlement agreement.
- Expected output: 150,000 barrels per day of crude oil and 140 million standard cubic feet per day of gas.
- The project is projected to create over 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.
- Proposals were evaluated by the National Revenue Service before submission to the Presidency.
The Bonga Southwest Aparo project has been tangled in fiscal and regulatory constraints since the early 2000s. NNPC and SNEPCo spent years developing fiscal solutions that satisfy investor return thresholds without sacrificing Nigeria’s long-term revenue position. Tinubu first signalled movement in January 2026 when his administration gazetted investment-linked incentives, but details remained opaque for weeks. The March 10 approval of the FID closes that gap and formally mobilises the project.
Bigger Picture: At $20 billion, Bonga Southwest Aparo is one of the largest single FDI commitments in Nigeria’s history and the clearest signal yet that Tinubu’s reform agenda is converting policy intent into capital decisions. Nigeria’s oil output has struggled below 1.5 million barrels per day for years; a project delivering 150,000 bpd represents a potential 10% production uplift. For global deepwater investors watching Nigeria, the willingness to resolve a decade-old fiscal dispute to get this deal done matters as much as the project itself.
Source: Nairametrics
