Nigeria’s Ima Gas Project has reached a Final Investment Decision (FID), clearing a major investment milestone for the offshore development more than five decades after the gas resource was discovered.
The approximately $800 million project is being developed by Nigerian independent energy company AMNI International in partnership with TotalEnergies. The development is located offshore in Oil Mining Leases 112 and 117 and is expected to produce about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak, according to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd).
The project is expected to supply feedgas to Nigeria LNG Limited as the Bonny Island facility moves ahead with its Train 7 expansion. NNPC says the expansion is designed to increase the plant’s capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes per annum.
Project moves from discovery to development
The Ima gas resource was discovered in 1973 but remained undeveloped for decades.
The State House said the FID announced in September marks a step toward converting the long-standing discovery into a producing gas project. The Presidency described the development as part of efforts to attract investment into Nigeria’s gas industry and increase the use of the country’s gas resources.
The long period between discovery and investment highlights one of the recurring challenges in Nigeria’s petroleum industry: having significant hydrocarbon resources does not automatically result in their commercial development.
Projects must still secure financing, reach commercial agreements, obtain regulatory approvals and establish conditions that make development economically viable.
AMNI and TotalEnergies partnership
AMNI International, a Nigerian-owned exploration and production company, is developing the project in partnership with TotalEnergies.
NNPC described the FID as an important development for Nigeria’s upstream gas sector and highlighted the partnership between an indigenous operator, an international energy company and Nigerian financial institutions.
The development therefore goes beyond the production of gas itself. It also provides an example of how domestic and international capital can participate together in an offshore Nigerian project.
According to the State House, Nigerian financial institutions arranged 77% of the project’s financing. The Presidency also said about 60% of the project’s workforce is expected to come from host communities, including Bonny, Finima and Andoni in Rivers State.
Those figures are government-provided projections and should be treated as such rather than as outcomes already achieved.
Gas supply and Nigeria LNG’s expansion
One of the project’s main purposes is to provide additional feedgas for Nigeria LNG.
NNPC says the Ima project will supply gas for the company’s Train 7 expansion, which is expected to raise Nigeria LNG’s production capacity from 22 million tonnes per annum to 30 million tonnes per annum.
Additional gas supply can therefore have implications beyond the upstream project itself. It connects offshore production with Nigeria’s LNG export infrastructure and the country’s broader effort to increase the commercial value of its gas resources.
The extent to which those benefits materialise will depend on the project’s execution, production performance and the successful integration of its output with downstream infrastructure.
Investment follows changes in the gas sector
NNPC linked the Ima FID to policy changes introduced through presidential directives issued in 2024.
The company said those measures provided fiscal incentives for non-associated gas, streamlined contracting processes and reduced development costs. The State House similarly said the directives were intended to improve the commercial conditions for previously delayed projects.
The Ima project is described by NNPC as the fourth major gas project to reach FID under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, following the Iseni, Ubeta and HI projects.
The FID therefore forms part of a wider effort to attract new investment into Nigeria’s upstream oil and gas industry.
What the project could mean for Nigeria
Nigeria has extensive natural gas resources, but a significant portion has historically remained undeveloped.
The government has increasingly promoted gas as a source of industrial development, electricity generation, LNG exports and feedstock for industries.
For the Ima project, the immediate focus is development of the offshore resource and delivery of gas into the country’s LNG supply chain.
If the project proceeds according to plan, it could contribute to Nigeria’s gas production capacity and provide additional feedgas for LNG operations.
However, an FID is an investment milestone, not the same thing as completed production. The project still has to move through construction and development before its projected gas output becomes operational.
What happens next
The next major milestones will be the physical development of the Ima field, construction and installation work, connection of the necessary infrastructure and eventual production.
NNPC says the project is expected to produce about 300 million standard cubic feet of gas per day at peak.
The State House has presented the development as an example of Nigeria’s effort to turn previously undeveloped gas resources into productive assets.
For the energy industry, the key question now is whether the project can move from investment approval to timely construction and ultimately reliable gas production.
As of September 27, 2026, the Ima Gas Project has reached Final Investment Decision, but commercial production has not yet begun.
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