Nigeria ends investments’ drought for $10bn oilfield

Nigeria has dug up investors nod for Nigeria’s $10 billion Bonga South West Aparo oil field, which has been on the drawing board for several years.

Stating that the Final Investments Decision (FDI) would soon be taken for the deepwater project being championed by Royal Dutch Shell, the UK government declared on its official website  that the leadership of President Muhammadu Buhari is central in securing funding from investors.

Prime Minister, Theresa May, had met with Buhari during her official visit to Nigeria and the issue of Bonga SW Final Investment Decision was raised, the UK government added.

“She also met with chief executive officers of UK business concerns in Nigeria particularly those oil and gas firms listed on London Stock Exchange where she hinted that she at the meeting with President Buhari craved shield for UK oil and gas investments in Nigeria against political instability and policy summersault,” a source at the FMDQ head office venue of the meeting told this newspaper.

At the meeting are Chairman, Seplat Petroleum Development Company – a Nigerian firm that successfully listed its $350 million eurobond programme on the London Stock Exchange recently – Dr. ABC Orjiako; UK Minister of State for Trade Policy, George Hollingbery; Chairman KPMG Africa, Kunle Elebute, CEO Chapel Hill Denham, Bolaji Balogun, Chairman Heirs Holdings Ltd, Tony Elumelu; and Executive Director/Co-Founder Sahara Group, Tonye Cole.

A Downing Street spokesperson confirmed that the “Prime Minister welcomed the (Buhari’s) progress towards securing a significant investment into oil and gas in Bonga South West.”

May, he added on the UK government website, “reiterated the importance of the President’s continued leadership in securing the final agreement” for the project.

“The leaders agreed that the UK and Nigeria are strong partners bilaterally and in the Commonwealth, and that our mutual security and prosperity is strengthened by our close cooperation.

“The leaders agreed to build on our growing commercial ties, including through a new Economic Development Forum to help us identify and overcome barriers to trade and investment. The PM talked about how the UK will step up investment into Nigeria as part of its ambition to be the G7’s number one investor in Africa by 2022, including through CDC.

“She thanked President Buhari for championing this agenda, including through his chairing of the Economic Community of West African States and his commitment to use Nigeria’s influence to promote African leadership on these issues.

“The Prime Minister and President agreed to continue working in partnership to ensure our bilateral relationship and regional cooperation go from strength to strength in the years ahead.”

The Minister of State for Petroleum, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu, has earlier directed the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell, to commence the tendering process for the execution of the $10 billion Bonga South West/Aparo (BSWA) deepwater project.

Kachikwu’s directive was prior to the April 17, 2018 meeting between President Muhammadu Buhari and a delegation from Royal Dutch Shell Plc., led by the Chief Executive Officer, Bern Van Beurden, in London.

In the meeting, it was decided that the oil giant and NNPC would begin the implementation of projects that have been on the drawing board for several years.

Ibe Kachikwu was said to have being the person the facilitator of the meeting in London.

The meeting also has in attendance Dr. Maikanti Baru, the Group Managing Director of the NNPC. The meeting was said to have presented an opportunity to open investment talks of up to $15 billion to be invested by Shell in Nigeria.

Estimated to cost about $10 billion, the Bonga South West/Aparo project, which has been on the drawing board for several years, is being executed by SNEPCo under a Production Sharing Contract (PSC) arrangement with the NNPC.

This project on completion is expected to increase the production crude oil in Nigeria which will in turn generate more revenue for the countries development.

The bulk of One billion barrels Bonga South West’s resources are located in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118, but it also extends into OMLs 132 and 140 operated by Chevron, where it is called Aparo. Other partners in the field are ExxonMobil, France’s Total, Italy’s Eni and