By Obiabin Onukwugha
President Bola Tinubu has approved a landmark reform that replaces project-by-project negotiations with a transparent investment framework designed to unlock up to US$50 billion, an equivalent of N68.128billion in deep offshore investment.
A statement by the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, on Tuesday mentioned that the newly approved framework will restart Nigeria’s large, capital-intensive offshore developments that have remained stalled for decades.
The reform, according to the statement, establishes a transparent, rules-based investment framework capable of supporting 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 builds on President Tinubu’s engagement with the Chief Executive Officer of Shell plc, Mr Wael Sawan, during which the President directed the development of the next wave of measures required to unlock Nigeria’s deep offshore investment pipeline.
“Rather than pursuing project-specific solutions, the Federal Government transformed that directive into a comprehensive investment framework applicable across multiple categories of qualifying developments,” the statement read.
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 that provides greater certainty for investors while safeguarding long-term national value.
The approval also enables NNPC Limited, as the Government’s nominated counterparty under the Production Sharing Contracts, to proceed with the necessary amendments to eligible Production Sharing Contracts required to implement the framework.
A defining feature of the reform is its emphasis on Nigerian industrial capability, said Olu Arowolo-Verheijen, the President’s special adviser on oil and gas.
“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.
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 statement read
It stated that acting on the President’s directive, a framework that will deliver a durable investment architecture for Nigeria’s deep offshore sector has been developed following an extensive inter-agency process, in close collaboration with the presidency, fiscal, legal, commercial and regulatory institutions, alongside operators in the industry,
President Tinubu commended the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigeria Revenue Service, NNPC Limited, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, investing partners and other industry stakeholders whose collaboration, technical expertise and commitment helped shape the framework.
“The countries that attract long-term investment are not necessarily those with the greatest natural resources. They are the ones that provide the greatest certainty. This reform reflects our determination to build an investment environment defined by clear rules, strong institutions and enduring partnerships. 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,” Tinubu stated.
