Gbenga Ilemobayo
Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell Plc, and Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited, have taken a final investment decision on the HI gas project offshore Nigeria.
When completed, the project will supply 350 million standard cubic feet (approximately 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent) of gas per day at peak production to Nigeria LNG, which produces and exports liquefied natural gas to global markets. Production is expected to begin before the end of this decade.
“Following recent investment decisions related to the Bonga deep-water development, Tuesday’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector, with a focus on Deepwater and Integrated Gas,” said Peter Costello, Shell’s Upstream President. “This Upstream project will help Shell grow our leading Integrated Gas portfolio, while supporting Nigeria’s plans to become a more significant player in the global LNG market.”
The increase in feedstock to NLNG, via the Train 7 project that aims to expand the Bonny Island terminal’s production capacity, is in line with Shell’s plans to grow its global LNG volumes by an average of 4-5 per cent yearly until 2030. It will also bolster NLNG’s contribution to Nigeria’s national economic development goals, including jobs in construction and operations.
The HI field was discovered in 1985 and lies in 100m of water depth around 50km from the shore. The current estimated recoverable resource volumes of the HI project are approximately 285 million barrels of oil equivalent.
The HI project is part of a joint venture between Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited (60 per cent) and SNEPCo (40 per cent).
The production associated with this project will be reported through Shell’s Upstream segment.
The project consists of a wellhead platform with four wells, to be installed at the HI field location, a pipeline to transport the multiphase gas to onshore at Bonny, and a gas processing plant at Bonny, from where the processed gas will be transported to NLNG and the condensate to the Bonny Oil and Gas Export Terminal.
The estimated peak production and current estimated recoverable resources presented above are 100 per cent total gross figures. Current estimated recoverable resource volumes are a P50 estimate under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Petroleum Resources Classification System. P50 means there is a 50 per cent probability of the estimate being lower and a 50 per cent probability of being higher.
This project contributes to Shell’s Capital Market Day 2025 commitment to deliver upstream and integrated gas projects coming on stream between 2025 to 2030 with a total peak production of more than one million barrels of oil equivalent per day. This also supports Shell’s intent to grow top line production across our combined Upstream and Integrated Gas business by one per cent per year to 2030.
LNG plays a key role in the energy transition, producing less greenhouse gas emissions than coal when used to generate electricity, and less emissions than petrol or diesel when used for transport fuel.
Shell took a final investment decision on the Bonga North project in December 2024 and recently increased its stake in the Bonga field, consistent with the company’s intention to be a continued disciplined investor in Nigeria’s energy sector through its Deep Water and Integrated Gas businesses.
