President Bola Tinubu has approved a new deepwater oil and gas investment framework that Nigeria says could unlock as much as $50 billion in investment, as Africa’s top crude producer seeks to revive stalled offshore projects and compete more aggressively for global energy capital.
The framework replaces the government’s previous practice of negotiating incentives separately for individual projects with predetermined rules covering qualifying deepwater developments.
The approval was announced on Tuesday by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, following months of discussions between the government and major oil companies over the commercial terms required to advance Nigeria’s next generation of offshore projects.
The framework takes effect through the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, and allows the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited to amend eligible Production Sharing Contracts to implement the new terms.
The government expects the reforms to support up to $50 billion in new investment, beginning with Shell’s long-delayed Bonga South West development, an approximately $10 billion capital project that has yet to reach a final investment decision.
