The Shell companies in Nigeria have sought the support of the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to achieve accelerated development of three major oil and gas projects in Nigeria.
The team led by the Chairman of Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCIN), Osagie Okunbor, assured that Shell is not leaving Nigeria, though its ongoing divestment was a business realignment that would only affect the shareholding structure of the company, while the operations and staff would remain intact.
Okunbor said the company is determined to take the Final Investment Decision (FID) on some of the major projects in 2024, which would benefit the Nigerian oil and gas industry and the national economy.
Speaking on the new projects, Okunbor indicated that the Bonga North project would be a tie-back project that would unlock about 350 million barrels of oil equivalent and extend the life of Bonga Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSO) for another 15 years.
He mentioned that the company had made appreciable progress in the plans for HI and HA projects which would supply 50 per cent of the gas required for the successful operation of the Train 7 project currently being developed by the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG).
He stressed the need to develop the gas projects speedily to avoid delaying the Train 7 operation date.
While thanking NCDMB for its support for the company’s various projects, Okunbor requested the board to fast-track the approvals on the new projects to enable the projects to proceed to full execution.
He stated that the economics of the projects were challenging, making it imperative to carefully manage the expenditures for in-country and out-of-country scopes of the project.
In her comments, the Managing Director of SNEPCo, Mrs. Elahor Aiboni reiterated the company’s plan to develop the Bonga North project as fast as possible to increase the country’s crude oil production.
The Executive Secretary of NCDMB, Felix Omatsola Ogbe, assured that NCDMB would sustain its momentum in expeditious consideration and approvals of oil and gas projects, by meeting the timelines set by the Service Level Agreement (SLA) instituted for shortening the contracting cycle for oil and gas projects.
Ogbe urged the international oil and gas companies in Nigeria to meet the thresholds set by the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development (NOGICD) Act in their projects while being transparent with their project plans submitted to the board.
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