Nigeria’s President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved a new investment framework for deep offshore oil and gas projects. The government will implement the framework through an executive order known as the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026.
According to the Office of the Special Adviser to the President on Energy, the incentive aims to attract up to $50 billion in investment and revive large, capital-intensive offshore projects that have remained stalled for years.
The new framework replaces project-by-project negotiations with a clear, rules-based system. It sets out eligibility requirements and implementation procedures to give investors greater certainty across qualifying deep offshore projects.
The framework will support a new wave of offshore developments, starting with the approximately $10 billion Bonga South West project, while helping Nigeria compete for international investment.
President Tinubu said on X that the order is the tenth major policy directive his administration has introduced specifically for the oil and gas sector. He said each directive has addressed a challenge affecting investment, production, or value creation. Together, he said, the measures aim to improve the competitiveness of Nigeria’s oil and gas industry, attract more investment, and keep a larger share of the value generated from the country’s resources within Nigeria.
The president said that after his discussions with Wael Sawan, CEO of Shell plc, he instructed his team to develop a solution that would go beyond a single company or project. He said the goal was to create a framework that could support a broader pipeline of investments while protecting Nigeria’s long-term interests. According to him, that framework is now in place.
The Office of the Special Adviser on Energy said the government developed the framework through an interagency process led by the Presidency. The process involved fiscal, legal, commercial, and regulatory institutions, as well as industry stakeholders.
The new order allows NNPC Limited, acting as the government’s nominated counterparty under the Production Sharing Contracts, to make the necessary amendments to eligible contracts.
The government also expects qualifying projects to carry out as much work as possible in Nigeria, where it is commercially and technically practical. This will support local engineering, fabrication, marine logistics, technical services, and project management, while creating skilled jobs and strengthening domestic supply chains.
source: africaoilgasreport.com
African Energy Council