The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has welcomed the Final Investment Decision (FID) by TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited and AMNI International Petroleum Development Company Limited on the Ima Gas Development Project, describing the milestone as evidence of what sustained policy direction and committed investment partners can achieve.
The FID was announced on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, at a ceremony held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel, Abuja, where the Commission Chief Executive of the NUPRC, Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, commended the partners for advancing the development of the long-standing offshore gas resource.
Eyesan attributed the development to the Federal Government’s policy direction and reforms in the petroleum sector, particularly measures introduced under President Bola Tinubu to improve the investment environment.
“Today’s success is attributable to His Excellency, the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu. Years ago, we could not have conceived that today we would be sitting here to celebrate a project if he hadn’t given the executive orders,” Eyesan said.
He assured investors that the NUPRC would continue to facilitate business and remove regulatory obstacles in the upstream petroleum sector.
“As the Chief Regulator in the industry, we will enable business, we will unplug obstacles. The President has set the path for us, and we are determined to follow through,” he said.
The Ima Gas Project involves the development of an offshore gas resource discovered in 1973 in OMLs 112 and 117, off the coast of Rivers State. The field is located in shallow waters of about 8 to 10 metres.
AMNI, an indigenous Nigerian energy company, holds a 60 per cent interest in the project, while TotalEnergies holds 40 per cent and serves as operator. The development is expected to produce about 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at plateau.
Gas from the project is expected to supply approximately 30 per cent of the feed-gas requirement for Nigeria LNG’s Train 7 expansion, making Ima an important component of the country’s efforts to increase gas supply and expand its LNG capacity. First gas is targeted for 2028.
The project has an estimated development cost of approximately $1.108 billion, according to project information released by AMNI, although the State House described the FID as an $800 million investment.
TotalEnergies Managing Director and Chief Executive, Matthieu Bouyer, said the investment represented a vote of confidence in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.
Seven Nigerian financial institutions, including Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA), are providing about 77 per cent of the project’s financing, underscoring the role of domestic financial institutions in supporting major energy developments.
Bouyer also said the project could create between $2 billion and $4 billion in value over its lifetime, depending on international energy prices.
The FID followed the completion of extensive technical, commercial and contractual preparations, including Front-End Engineering Design and key project agreements. The project will now proceed into engineering, procurement and construction ahead of commissioning and first gas.
For AMNI, the project represented a further expansion of its role as an indigenous participant in Nigeria’s upstream petroleum industry, while the partnership with TotalEnergies builds on a relationship that dates back to 2005.
The development is also expected to contribute to Nigerian content, employment and economic activity. Project information indicated that about 60 per cent of the development-phase workforce is expected to be sourced from host communities.
With the FID now secured, attention shifted to project execution, as TotalEnergies and AMNI move towards construction and the delivery of first gas targeted for 2028.
