Schneider pins gas future on production-ready infrastructure

Nigeria has added fresh momentum to its gas-led economic strategy after TotalEnergies and AMNI International approved a Final Investment Decision (FID) for the long-delayed Ima gas field, a project expected to unlock between $2 billion and $4 billion in lifetime value while expanding supplies to Nigeria’s Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).

The gas field discovered more than five decades ago is set to move from underground reserves to commercial production following the FID.

However, the Regional Segment Leader for Energies and Chemicals at Schneider Electric West Africa, Iretomiwa Odusote, said the country’s ability to sustain its position in the global LNG market and advance domestic gas projects would depend on production-ready infrastructure, operational efficiency and timely project execution.

Located in Oil Mining Licences (OMLs) 112 and 117, the Ima field was discovered in 1973. Under the approved development plan, gas from the offshore field will be transported via an 18-inch, 23-kilometre multiphase pipeline to the existing BNAG plant on Bonny Island, with an expected daily production of about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas.

The project is expected to supply feedstock to LNG, supporting additional processing capacity associated with Train 7 while contributing to domestic value creation through employment and local contracting.

Speaking at the FID signing ceremony in Abuja yesterday, the Managing Director, TotalEnergies Upstream Companies, Matthieu Bouyer, linked the investment to recent policy changes targeting offshore non-associated gas developments, saying reforms introduced by the Federal Government improved the competitiveness of Nigeria’s investment environment.

According to him, the investment extends beyond infrastructure spending to building local industrial capacity.

Bouyer said more than 60 per cent of work carried out locally would involve community-based labour, while the project would generate employment, vocational training opportunities and local contracting throughout its implementation.

He estimated that the development could create between $2 billion and $4 billion in cumulative value over its operational life, with the final outcome influenced by future oil and gas prices.

The MD described the Ima approval as part of TotalEnergies’ broader commitment to Nigeria, where the company has operated for more than six decades.

For the Chairman, AMNI International Petroleum Company, Tunde Afolabi, the project demonstrates how previously discovered gas can be transformed into export earnings, government revenue and increased business activity when commercial agreements and financing align.

The investment, he noted, is underpinned by a long-term gas supply agreement with NLNG, and he argued that such commercial certainty was critical to attracting capital.

Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, added that the country’s challenge had not been the availability of resources but the creation of commercial conditions capable of converting those resources into projects that generate jobs, business opportunities and economic growth.

The Ima Gas Field, discovered in 1973, has remained undeveloped for over 50 years, but is now expected to become a major source of gas for the expansion of the LNG plant.

ODUSOTE, in an article examining the future of West Africa’s gas industry, argued that the region’s substantial gas resources would need to be matched by infrastructure capable of supporting rapid project development and sustained production.

“Possessing abundant gas reserves alone is no longer enough. Operators are under increasing pressure to commercialise projects rapidly and generate returns on significant capital investments. Success will be measured by three key outcomes: speed to first gas, operational safety and reliability, and sustained production efficiency over the life of the asset,” he said.

Nigeria remains a major player in the global LNG market while pursuing domestic gas-to-power projects to support power generation and economic development.

According to the World LNG Report 2026 of the International Gas Union cited by Odusote, Nigeria is the world’s seventh-largest LNG exporter, accounting for 3.4 per cent of global LNG exports.

He added: “The ability to deliver projects on schedule and begin production safely is becoming a genuine competitive advantage.”