The Presidency announced on Tuesday that the $550 million upstream gas project between NNPC Ltd. and TotalEnergies has commenced.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, made the announcement at the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue hosted by the US State Department in Washington, D.C.
The signing ceremony for the $550 million Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ubeta Field Development Project took place in Abuja in June this year. The Ubeta field, discovered in 1964, is located northwest of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Verheijen stated that the upstream gas project would deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when operational. She added that major energy reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu since June 2023 have focused on improving energy security, attracting investments, and deepening collaboration with key partners, including the US government.
She noted that these key reforms had improved the viability of the country’s gas-to-power value chain.
The reforms, she explained, included initiatives to improve cash flows in electricity distribution through smart metering, the payment of outstanding debts owed to investors, and efforts to reduce carbon emissions from gas production.
Verheijen further stated that the President had issued five new executive orders to support the reform efforts, aimed at providing fiscal incentives for investment and reducing the cost and time required to finalise and implement contracts to develop and expand gas infrastructure.
The presidential aide said these directives aim to immediately unlock up to $2.5 billion in new oil and gas investments in the country.
In response, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, Geoffrey Pyatt, said the dialogue was timely and strategic.
“The inaugural U.S.-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue has set the stage for strengthened energy collaboration between the United States and Nigeria. Together, we’re advancing shared energy security, decarbonization, and economic growth goals,” he said.
Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo, led the Nigerian delegation to the event. Officials from the Ministry of Power, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, and NNPC Limited were also in attendance.
The U.S. delegation included representatives from the Bureau of African Affairs, USAID, the U.S. Department of Energy, the U.S. Trade and Development Agency, and the Export-Import Bank.
