By Gold Jeremiah 

ABUJA – President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has welcomed the $800 million Final Investment Decision (FID) on the Ima Gas Project, describing it as another major milestone in his administration’s efforts to unlock Nigeria’s vast gas resources for investment, industrialisation, job creation and economic growth.


The Ima Gas Project, being developed by Nigerian independent exploration and production company AMNI International in partnership with TotalEnergies, is expected to produce about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak production.


The Ima gas resource, located offshore in Oil Mining Leases (OMLs) 112 and 117, was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for more than five decades.


Despite its significant reserves and potential to serve as a feed gas source for Nigeria LNG Limited, the resource remained stranded and unable to make a meaningful contribution to the Nigerian economy until the FID announced on September 23.


President Tinubu said the investment demonstrated the impact of creating a more competitive and predictable environment for investors in Nigeria’s energy sector.

•President Bola Tinubu

“For more than fifty years, the gas beneath Ima remained a resource with enormous potential, but potential alone does not create jobs, finance businesses or improve the lives of our people. Our responsibility has been to create the conditions that turn Nigeria’s natural resources into productive investments and economic opportunities,” the President said.


“The Final Investment Decision on Ima demonstrates what is possible when we provide investors with a competitive, predictable and enabling environment. We are determined to unlock more of Nigeria’s gas resources to power our industries, expand our exports, create jobs and build lasting prosperity for our people.”


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 series of investment decisions reflects growing momentum in Nigeria’s gas sector and the administration’s efforts to translate the country’s extensive gas resources into productive projects capable of generating employment, government revenues and wider economic opportunities.


Since taking office, Tinubu has prioritised reforms aimed at addressing years of underinvestment in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry.


Although the Petroleum Industry Act of 2021 established a new regulatory framework for the sector, the Presidency said several gas projects still faced fiscal and commercial constraints that prevented them from reaching investment decisions.


In 2024, Tinubu issued a series of Presidential Directives developed by the team led by his Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Verheijen, aimed at improving fiscal competitiveness, shortening contracting timelines and reducing project costs.


Verheijen said the Ima development illustrated the intended outcome of the reforms.


“The story of Ima is ultimately the story of what our reforms are designed to achieve. Nigeria has never lacked resources. The challenge has been creating the commercial and investment conditions required to move those resources from beneath the ground into projects that employ Nigerians, create opportunities for Nigerian businesses, generate revenues and support economic growth,” she said.


She added that the development represented a transition from resource discovery to commercial production.


“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. That is the transition we are seeing today,” Verheijen said.


The project also highlights increasing Nigerian participation in the country’s upstream oil and gas industry. AMNI International, a Nigerian-owned exploration and production company, holds a majority interest in the asset, reflecting the growing role of indigenous companies in major upstream developments.

Nigerian financial institutions have arranged 77 per cent of the project’s financing, while about 60 per cent of the project workforce is expected to be drawn from host communities, including Bonny, Finima and Andoni in Rivers State.


Nigeria possesses one of Africa’s largest natural gas resource bases, but substantial volumes have remained undeveloped for decades.


The Tinubu administration's gas strategy seeks to increase production while also expanding the domestic and export uses of Nigerian gas, including LNG exports, industrial feedstock, fertiliser and petrochemical production, power generation and opportunities for Nigerian businesses and workers.


“Natural resources have value only when they are converted into opportunities for our people,” Tinubu said. “Our goal is to ensure that Nigeria’s gas powers Nigerian prosperity.”


The statement was signed by Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, on September 23, 2026.