….Nigeria’s $800m Ima Gas FID by AMNI and TotalEnergies will develop a 50-year-old offshore resource, supplying about one-third of NLNG Train 7’s feedgas and strengthening Nigeria’s LNG, local-content and gas investment outlook.
The $800 million Final Investment Decision (FID) on Nigeria’s Ima Gas Development has moved a gas resource discovered more than five decades ago from long-delayed potential towards production, while creating a new supply stream for Nigeria LNG’s $7-billion Train 7 expansion.
The FID, signed on September 23 by Nigerian independent oil and gas company AMNI International and TotalEnergies, is one of the most significant recent developments in Nigeria’s gas sector because it links a previously undeveloped offshore resource directly to the country’s LNG export infrastructure.
TotalEnergies, which holds a 40 per cent interest and operates the project, said AMNI holds the remaining 60 per cent. The Ima field straddles OMLs 112 and 117 in shallow waters near Bonny Island, Rivers State. Production is expected to begin in 2028, with output rising to about 350 million standard cubic feet per day (MMscf/d).
The development will use a single offshore platform connected by a 22-kilometre pipeline to Nigeria LNG. At plateau production, Ima is expected to supply about one-third of the gas required for NLNG’s Train 7 expansion, which will increase the Bonny Island plant’s liquefaction capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes.
Turning a stranded resource into productive capital
The strategic significance of Ima lies first in its history.
The gas resource was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for more than 50 years. Its FID therefore represents more than another upstream investment: it demonstrates the economic value that can be created when a long-stranded discovery is connected to infrastructure, markets and a bankable commercial framework.
For Nigeria, where large volumes of discovered gas have remained undeveloped despite the country’s substantial resource base, the project offers a practical example of the transition from geological potential to actual economic output.
President Bola Tinubu described the development as evidence of the administration’s effort to create conditions that allow Nigeria’s natural resources to generate investment, jobs and economic activity.
“A gas discovery made in 1973 can only contribute to prosperity when somebody invests the capital to develop it, banks finance it, contractors build it, Nigerians work on it, and the gas is ultimately put to productive use.”
A critical feedgas source for NLNG Train 7
The most immediate commercial importance of Ima is its connection to Nigeria LNG.
The project is expected to provide roughly one-third of the feedgas required by Train 7. That makes the field strategically important not only to the upstream partners but also to Nigeria’s ambition to expand LNG exports and sustain foreign-exchange earnings from gas.
Train 7 is designed to raise NLNG’s production capacity from 22 Mtpa to 30 Mtpa. The availability of reliable feedgas is therefore fundamental to the economic performance of the expansion.
The Ima development effectively adds another domestic gas source to the supply chain supporting Nigeria’s LNG export platform.
A test of Nigeria’s upstream reform agenda
The FID is also being presented by the Federal Government as evidence that recent reforms are improving the investment environment for gas developments.
The Ima project is the fourth major gas project to reach FID since President Tinubu assumed office, following the Iseni, Ubeta and HI projects, according to the Presidency.
The administration has sought to address some of the factors that have historically delayed Nigerian oil and gas projects, including project costs, contracting timelines and the commercial conditions surrounding gas developments.
Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, said the challenge was no longer simply the availability of resources but creating the conditions under which those resources could attract capital and be developed.
The significance of Ima will ultimately depend on whether that investment momentum translates into timely construction, first gas and sustained production. The FID is an important financing and commercial milestone, but the economic benefits will only materialise fully when the project is delivered and the gas reaches the market.
Indigenous participation moves up the value chain
Ima also has an important Nigerian-content dimension.
AMNI, a Nigerian-owned exploration and production company, holds the majority 60 per cent interest in the project. The structure gives an indigenous Nigerian operator a leading role in a development involving a major international energy company.
The project is also expected to deepen participation by Nigerian contractors and service companies.
TotalEnergies said the development is designed around a simplified platform and strong Nigerian content, while about 60 per cent of the workforce during the development phase is expected to come from host communities.
The Presidency said Nigerian financial institutions have arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing, potentially giving domestic banks a greater role in financing large-scale upstream developments.
For communities in Bonny, Finima and Andoni, the project is expected to generate employment and contracting opportunities during the development phase.
Jobs, contractors and wider economic activity
The economic impact of Ima will extend beyond gas production.
The construction phase will require engineering, fabrication, marine services, logistics, installation, construction and other oilfield services. This creates opportunities for Nigerian contractors and skilled workers before the first molecule of gas is produced.
The concentration of about 60 per cent of the development workforce from host communities could also give the project a stronger local economic footprint.
Once operational, the project will create a continuing stream of activity around gas production, transportation, maintenance and associated services.
More gas for Nigeria’s industrial economy
The larger economic case goes beyond LNG exports.
Nigeria’s gas strategy increasingly depends on converting gas into industrial value through power generation, manufacturing, fertiliser, petrochemicals, LPG and LNG.
Ima adds another source of non-associated gas to that broader system. By feeding NLNG, it can support exports and foreign-exchange earnings while also reinforcing the infrastructure and investment ecosystem around Nigeria’s gas industry.
The project also incorporates a lower-emissions development design. TotalEnergies said Ima will use electricity supplied from shore, have no routine flaring and employ permanent methane detection and monitoring.
A signal to investors watching Nigeria’s stranded gas
Perhaps the broader significance of the Ima FID is what it could mean for other undeveloped Nigerian gas discoveries.
For decades, Nigeria has had large gas resources but struggled to translate many discoveries into producing assets. The Ima model—an indigenous majority partner, an international operator, dedicated infrastructure and a defined market through NLNG—offers a commercial template for developing other stranded or delayed gas resources.
But the investment signal will ultimately be judged by execution.
The key milestones will now be construction, completion of the 22-kilometre pipeline, delivery of first gas in 2028 and the achievement of the targeted 350 MMscf/d plateau.
If those milestones are met, Ima could become more than a successful gas development. It could demonstrate that Nigeria is becoming better at converting long-dormant resources into producing assets, export revenues, industrial feedstock and local economic activity.
For a country that has spent decades talking about the scale of its gas resources, the real significance of Ima is therefore straightforward: the gas is finally moving from the subsurface to the balance sheet
