Shell, partners to invest $5 billion in Nigeria’s deepwater oil

(Bloomberg) – Shell Plc’s subsidiary in Nigeria will begin oil and gas production offshore at the Bonga North floating facility by the end of the decade.

Production should peak at about 110,000 bopd with 300 million barrels of oil equivalent recoverable from the area, Shell said in a statement on Monday. The $5 billion Bonga North project involves drilling, completing and starting up 16 wells.

“We designed our policies and reforms from the start of my administration to achieve this goal,” Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu said in a statement. “Shell and its partners’ decision to invest in Bonga North affirms the success of our efforts.”

The venture is one of several offshore projects in the queue, with BP Plc’s Gulf of Mexico production boost due at the end of the decade, while Shell and TotalEnergies SE’s Namibia discoveries are also generating excitement.

While forecasters have cut initial expectations for consumption growth this year, largely to reflect biggest-importer China’s faltering economy, consultancy Rapidan Energy Group said in a recent report that global demand may keep growing until 2050.

Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production Co. Ltd. has a 55% interest and is operator of Bonga North. Esso Exploration & Production Nigeria has a 20% stake, while a TotalEnergies subsidiary and Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd. each have 12.5%.