By Ajibola Olaide, JKNewsMedia Reporter
FEDERAL GOVERNMENT has approved a new investment framework aimed at unlocking up to US$50 billion in deep offshore investment and reviving large, capital-intensive offshore developments that have remained stalled for decades.
JKNewsMedia.com reports that the reform establishes a transparent, rules-based investment framework for the next generation of deep offshore developments, beginning with the approximately US$10 billion Bonga South-West project, while strengthening Nigeria’s competitiveness for globally mobile investment capital.
The decision followed President Bola Tinubu’s engagement with Shell plc Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan, during which the President directed the development of further measures to unlock Nigeria’s deep offshore investment pipeline.
Rather than pursuing project specific solutions, the Federal Government transformed the directive into a comprehensive investment framework applicable across multiple categories of qualifying developments.
Given effect through the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, the framework replaces project by project negotiations with transparent eligibility criteria, clear implementation processes and a durable investment architecture designed to provide greater certainty for investors while safeguarding long term national value.
The approval also enables the Nigerian National Petroleum (NNPC) Limited, as the government’s nominated counterparty under the Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), to proceed with necessary amendments to eligible PSC required to implement the framework.
The President’s special adviser on oil and gas, Olu Arowolo Verheijen, said a defining feature of the reform was its emphasis on Nigerian industrial capability.
“Projects qualifying under the framework will maximise execution within Nigeria wherever commercially and technically feasible, strengthening domestic engineering, fabrication, marine logistics, technical services and project management,” she said.
“The objective is not only to increase investment and production, but also to create skilled jobs, deepen local supply chains and position Nigeria as Africa’s regional hub for deep offshore project execution.”
The framework was developed following an extensive inter agency process involving the Presidency, fiscal, legal, commercial and regulatory institutions, alongside operators in the industry.
JKNewsMedia.com also reports that President Tinubu commended the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS), NNPC Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), investing partners and other industry stakeholders for their collaboration, technical expertise and commitment in shaping the framework.
The President said countries that attract long term investment were not necessarily those with the greatest natural resources, but those that provided the greatest certainty.
“This reform reflects our determination to build an investment environment defined by clear rules, strong institutions and enduring partnerships,” Tinubu said.
“We are creating the conditions for capital to flow, for Nigerian businesses to grow, for our people to prosper and for our natural resources to deliver lasting national value.”
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