Nigeria signs $800m offshore gas deal with TotalEnergies

Nigeria and TotalEnergies announced Wednesday an $800 million deal to invest in the Ima offshore natural gas field as the country seeks to raise oil and gas production.

TotalEnergies has a 40 percent stake in the field, about 20 kilometres offshore from the liquefied natural gas terminal at Port Harcourt on the Niger Delta. Nigeria's privately owned ANMI owns the remaining 60 percent.

The field was discovered around 50 years ago but has not been tapped. TotalEnergies said production is expected to start in 2028 and reach a plateau of 350 million cubic feet per day, representing more than 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

President Bola Tinubu said his government wanted to turn Nigeria's natural resources into investment and economic opportunities. Nigeria's oil output had risen to 1.6 million barrels per day by August, still below the government's goal of two million barrels per day by 2027.