For more than 50 years, Shell has been a key player within the energy sector of Nigeria, delivering projects and operations that span all aspects of the oil and gas sector, from exploration and production all the way to downstream delivery through its retail locations. Across Nigeria, almost 90% of the country’s export income and 75% of the country’s overall government revenue come from the oil and gas sector. Therefore, with such a significant portion of the country’s economy focused on the oil and gas sector, Shell is primed to deliver significant energy resources for the country to sustain its position as a leading energy producer in Africa.
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Shell is present in more than 70 countries across the globe, where it delivers innovative oil and gas developments towards building a more sustainable energy future. The company aims to meet the energy needs of the planet today in a manner that prioritises the economic, social and environmental impact of energy generation for many years to come. One of the central developments for the country in recent years has been in the company’s offshore exploration and production sector. Under this brand, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), a subsidiary of Shell Plc, is focused on delivering exploration and production projects that access the vital deposits at Nigeria’s disposal for the benefit of the country and its communities for many years to come.
The bulk of SNEPCo’s operation in Nigeria centres around the Bonga and Erha fields. The Bonga field is operated by SNEPCo in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. (20%), Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd. (12.5%) and TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Ltd. (12.5%), who work on behalf of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC). The deep-water development in located in OML 188, at water depths of more than 1000 metres. Production began at the Bonga Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility in 2005, which Shell operates with a 55% interest, and has a capacity to deliver 225,000 barrels of oil per day.
SNEPCo has continued its expansion of the country’s deepwater developments with the establishment of additional deepwater developments in the Bonga field. At the end of 2024, SNEPCo announced it had reached a final investment decision on Bonga North, a deep-water project location offshore Nigeria. Bonga North will comprise a subsea tie-back to the existing Bonga FPSO. The project will involve the drilling of up to 16 wells: 8 for production and 8 for water injection. In addition to the wells, the project will see modifications made to the existing Bonga Main FPSO and the installation of new subsea hardware tied back to the FPSO. Once completed, which is planned for the end of the next decade, the project is expected to sustain oil and gas production at the Bonga facility. At present, Bonga North has an estimated recoverable resource volume of more than 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and will hit a peak production of 110,000 barrels of oil per day.
SNEPCo announced in May 2025 that it was increasing its interest in Nigeria’s deep-water Bonga field. In an agreement with TotalEnergies EP Nigeria Limited, SNEPCo would acquire TotalEnergies’ 12.5% stake in the OML 118 Product Sharing Contract (OML 118 PSC) mining lease offshore Nigeria that includes the Bonga field. Once the transaction is completed, Shell’s interest in the OML 118 PSC will rise from 55% to 67.5%. In the announcement outlining the agreement between TotalEnergies EP Nigeria and SNEPCo, Peter Costello, the President of Shell’s Upstream division, outlined that “Following our final investment decision on Bonga North last year, this acquisition brings another significant investment in Nigeria deep-water that contributes to sustained liquids production and growth in our Upstream portfolio. Costello’s comment highlights how vital the acquisition of more of the Bonga development is to help Shell enhance its role among Nigeria’s deep-water development sector, and in the process, position the country as a key hub for energy development. Whilst the transaction is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to be completed before the end of 2025.
The Bonga developments add to SNEPCo’s existing deepwater development, which encompasses the Erha field and the Erha North satellite fields. These fields, located roughly 97km offshore Nigeria at depths ranging between 1000m and 1200m, were the first deepwater offshore field development for Nigeria. The OML 133 Contract Areas containing the Erha Development is operated by Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (EEPNL), who hold a 56.25% participating interest, with SNEPCo holding the remaining 43.7% share.
The development encompasses three drill centres, comprising 30 subsea wells which are tied back to the Erha FPSO vessel. Across the Erha fields, it was estimated that the field held a combined recoverable oil reserve of 500 million barrels. Oil produced from the fields is stored in the FPSO and conveyed through a floating hose string to offloading tankers moored to a catenary anchor leg mooring (CALM) offloading buoy, which is located 1.85km away from the starboard quarter of the FPSO. The spread-moored Erha FPSO has a designed storage capacity of 2.2 million barrels of crude oil, and its design oil processing capacity is 210,000 barrels per day.
With the initial development of Erha marking the first of its kind in Nigeria, the development of Phase Two of the Erha development began. The Erha North Phase Two development project extended the existing Erha North Subsea system and infrastructure, including the installation of associated subsea facilities, the development of a new drilling centre, and the modification to the existing FPSO unit. With the completion of the project in 2015, the oil capacity of the Erha field was expanded from roughly 65,000 barrels of oil per day to around 90,000 barrels of oil per day. Thus, the Erha fields have long played a valuable role in Nigeria’s deepwater exploration developments.
These offshore deepwater projects have been vital to the social and economic development of Nigeria, with the developments delivering much-needed employment, training and business opportunities for local people. In fact, the Bonga Field developments have helped establish the first generation of Nigeria’s oil and gas engineers with experience in deep water development. In the process, the development of Bonga, Shell will lead its integrated gas and upstream business to drive cash generation for Nigeria for many years to come.
As we have seen across SNEPCo’s operations, the development of Nigeria’s deepwater sector remains a vital industry delivering oil and gas across the country. From the initial developments across the Erha Fields, to the more recent developments on the Bonga Fields, SNEPCo are committed to delivering valuable resources for the people of Nigeria, whilst working to develop the country’s oil delivery infrastructure for the future. With its role across Nigeria’s deep water developing continuing to expand with its greater interest in the OML 188 contract area, we look forward to seeing how SNEPCo will continue to enhance the country’s energy delivery both now and for the future.
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