President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday approved a sweeping reform meant to revive the nation’s long-stalled deepwater oil projects by replacing ad hoc, project-by-project bargaining with a transparent, rules-based investment framework and unlock as much as $50 billion in new capital.
Special Adviser on Information and Strategy to the President Bayo Onanuga in a statement said the measure, formalized in the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, is designed to provide predictable eligibility criteria and implementation procedures for deep offshore developments.
He said the framework is intended to support a pipeline of large, capital-intensive projects, beginning with the roughly $10 billion Bonga South West development, and to make Nigeria more competitive for globally mobile energy investment.
“Nigeria must offer certainty if it wants long-term capital,” President Tinubu said in the statement.
“This reform reflects our determination to build an investment environment defined by clear rules, strong institutions and enduring partnerships.”
The decision follows direct engagement between President Tinubu and Shell plc Chief Executive Wael Sawan, during which Tinubu asked the industry leader to help identify measures that could unblock Nigeria’s offshore investment pipeline.
Under the new arrangement, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.), as the government’s designated counterparty under production-sharing contracts, is authorized to negotiate the contract amendments required to implement the incentives.
Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, President Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Energy said a central aim of the reform is to deepen the country’s local industrial capacity.
“Projects qualifying under the framework will maximise execution within Nigeria wherever commercially and technically feasible,” he said, adding that the policy is intended to boost domestic engineering, fabrication, marine logistics and technical services, create skilled jobs and strengthen local supply chains.
The initiative received input from a range of ministries and agencies, including the finance and justice ministries, the petroleum resources ministry, the Nigeria Revenue Service, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, Onanuga said.
NewsQuest reports that the success of the plan will hinge on implementation details and the government’s ability to sustain the legal and fiscal stability that investors demand.
Deepwater developments require long lead times and sizable upfront investment, and firms routinely weigh fiscal terms, contract certainty and operating risk when deciding where to commit capital.
