Bayo Ojulari says Shell Plans to Invest $20bn in Nigeria’s Energy Sector in Next Few Years

Bayo Ojulari, the group chief executive officer (GCEO) of Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, says Shell Plc has made commitments to invest $20 billion in Nigeria over the next few years. 

Ojulari spoke after a courtesy visit by the company’s delegation to the State House on Thursday.

In May 2025, TotalEnergies said its subsidiary, TotalEnergies EP Nigeria (TEPNG), signed an agreement to sell its 12.5 percent interest in the oil mining lease (OML) 118 production sharing contract (PSC) to Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Ltd (SNEPCo) for $510 million.

In October of the same year, SNEPCo said it had taken a $2 billion final investment decision (FID) on the HI offshore gas project in the country.

Speaking to journalists after the visit, Ojulari said the British-Dutch company announced additional investments in the country.

“Today, Shell made commitments to the president of pushing another $20 billion opportunity over the next couple of years. They indicated their ability to do this and the ability to pull in these resources,” he said.

“Remember, everybody is competing for global capital. It’s because of the confidence that they have in the leadership that Mr. President has demonstrated, not just talked about.

“It is in terms of what they can touch and feel around transparency and around commitment to the agenda of Mr. President.”

During the meeting, President Bola Tinubu had approved the gazetting of “investment-linked” incentives to support the proposed Bonga south-west deep-offshore oil project by Shell Plc and its partners.

Speaking on the development, Ojulari said the project has an operating expense of about $10 billion, adding that it will attract job opportunities for Nigerians for the next 25 to 30 years.

He added that the NNPC, as the concession holder for the Nigerian production sharing contracts (PSCs) with international investors like Shell, Chevron, and ExxonMobil, will continue to work collaboratively.

The GCEO said the company will also work with other parts of government “to create solutions and proposals that the government can approve”.