French energy giant TotalEnergies says it will launch the Ima shallow-water offshore development gas project in Nigeria in 2026, as part of two projects aimed at boosting the country’s LNG production.
This is disclosed by TotalEnergies’ chairman and managing director for Nigeria, Matthieu Bouyer, who said the integrated project will produce up to 70,000 barrels per day of oil equivalent when completed
“Ima is another gas-field project offshore, which we intend to unveil in the coming year,” Bouyer said.
The Ima field is located in OML112 and OML117 under the AMNI/TotalEnergies Joint Venture. As of July, the project was still in the Front End Engineering Design (FEED) phase.
Gas from the project will be sent as feedstock to the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG) facility whose train 7 is currently under construction at Bonny Island.
TotalEnergies agreed in August to supply feedstock gas to NLNG alongside several other gas operators (including Shell and NNPC Limited) in a total volume that summed up to 1.29 billion cubic feet daily.
The French company will supply gas from two of its latest projects:
- the offshore Ima project
- the onshore Ubeta gas project under OML 58
While Ima is looking forward to a final investment decision (FID) next year, Ubeta was launched in 2024 and is expected to start production in 2027.
Nigeria doubles down on gas development
Long regarded as an oil-dependent economy, Nigeria is now repositioning natural gas as a key part of its energy transition and industrial growth.
This pivot is anchored in the Decade of Gas Initiative, launched in 2021 by former President Muhammadu Buhari to unlock the country’s vast reserves — estimated at over 200 Tcf.
Over the past two years, the Nigerian government has rolled out new regulatory frameworks aimed at:
- Streamlining licensing processes
- Attracting foreign and domestic investment
- Accelerating infrastructure development across the gas value chain
Flagship projects such as the Ajaokuta–Kaduna–Kano (AKK) Pipeline, the Nigeria–Morocco Gas Pipeline, and the NLNG Train 7 expansion are progressing steadily to enhance both domestic supply and export capacity.
At the heart of this transformation is the $10 billion NLNG Train 7 project, which will increase Nigeria LNG’s processing capacity by 35% to 30 million tonnes per annum (MTPA).
This expansion is designed to meet rising demand in Europe and Asia, reinforcing Nigeria’s role as a key global LNG supplier.
The momentum around Train 7 has prompted a number of IOCs to fast-track previously delayed gas developments.
Just days ago, Shell and SunLink announced a FID on their $2 billion HI offshore gas project, which had been stalled for months.
The HI project is expected to deliver up to 350 MMCF/D (equivalent to 60,000 barrels of oil) directly supporting NLNG’s expanded operations.
Nigeria LNG Limited is a joint venture comprising:
- NNPC Limited – 49%
- Shell Gas B.V. – 25.6%
- TotalEnergies – 15%
- Eni – 10.4%
