By Ejekwu Chidiebere
Energy Window International (Media) – Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell plc, together with Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited said they have taken a final investment decision (FID) on the HI gas project offshore Nigeria.
Shell said that the project would supply, when completed, 350 million standard cubic feet (approximately 60 thousand barrels of oil equivalent) of gas per day at peak production to Nigeria LNG (NLNG; Shell interest 25.6%), which produces and exports liquefied natural gas (LNG) to global markets. Production is expected to begin before the end of this decade, Shell said in an email statement.
“Following recent investment decisions related to the Bonga deep-water development, today’s announcement demonstrates our continued commitment to Nigeria’s energy sector, with a focus on Deepwater and Integrated Gas,” says Peter Costello, Shell’s Upstream President. “This Upstream project will help Shell grow our leading Integrated Gas portfolio, while supporting Nigeria’s plans to become a more significant player in the global LNG market.”
According to Shell, the increase in feedstock to NLNG, via the Train 7 project which also aims to expand the Bonny Island terminal’s production capacity is in line, says Shell, with its plans to grow its global LNG volumes by an average of 4-5% per year until 2030. It will also, Shell says, bolster NLNG’s contribution to Nigeria’s national economic development goals, including jobs in construction and operations.
It is important to note that the HI field was discovered in 1985 and lies in 100m of water depth around 50km from the shore. The current estimated recoverable resource volumes of the HI project according to Shell are approximately 285 mmboe (million barrels of oil equivalent).
-The HI gas project according to Shell is part of a joint venture between Sunlink Energies and Resources Limited (60%) and SNEPCo (40%).
-The production associated with this project will be reported through Shell’s Upstream segment.
-The project consists of a wellhead platform with four wells, to be installed at the HI field location, a pipeline to transport the multiphase gas to onshore at Bonny, and a gas processing plant at Bonny, from where the processed gas will be transported to NLNG and the condensate to the Bonny Oil and Gas Export Terminal.
-The estimated peak production and current estimated recoverable resources presented above are 100% total gross figures. Current estimated recoverable resource volumes are a P50 estimate under the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ Petroleum Resources Classification System. P50 means there is a 50% probability of the estimate being lower and a 50% probability of being higher.
-The project will contribute to Shell’s Capital Market Day 2025 commitment to deliver upstream and integrated gas projects coming on stream between 2025 to 2030 with a total peak production of more than 1 million barrels of oil equivalent per day (boe/d). This is also expected to support Shell’s intent to grow top line production across our combined Upstream and Integrated Gas business by 1% per year to 2030.
It is not worth emphasizing that LNG plays a key role in the energy transition, producing less greenhouse gas emissions than coal when used to generate electricity, and less emission than petrol or diesel when used for transport fuel.
Recall that Shell took a final investment decision on the Bonga North project in December 2024 and recently increased its stake in the Bonga field, consistent with the company’s intention to be a continued disciplined investor in Nigeria’s energy sector through its Deep Water and Integrated Gas businesses, the Company said.