Shell CEO hails Tinubu’s leadership, pledges $20bn mega-investment in Nigeria’s oil sector
President Bola Tinubu
Abdullateef Fowewe
Shell Chief Executive Officer, Wael Sawan has lavished praise on President Bola Tinubu for transforming Nigeria’s investment landscape, announcing plans for a massive $20 billion foreign direct investment in energy projects, including the ambitious Bonga Southwest development.
“I’d argue one of the biggest resources that I’ve been most impressed by is the talent this country has.
“Many whom we’re privileged in Shell and many who work outside Nigeria for Shell in multiple different locations,” he said.
The executive credited Tinubu’s vision for reversing years of hesitation.
“Your leadership, your vision has created an investment climate over last few years that will be honest with you has propelled us to invest,” Sawan stated.
He stressed the need for long-term stability in a volatile world, “We are investing not for one administration or five or ten years. We want to invest in 20, 30 and 40 years.”
Recent commitments underscore Shell’s renewed confidence. Over the past 12 months, the company injected $5 billion into Bonga North, $2 billion into a gas project for Nigeria LNG (NLNG), and acquired deeper interests in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 and the Bonga block from TotalEnergies.
Looking ahead, Sawan unveiled the blockbuster $20 billion FDI initiative – half as direct capital, the other half in economic inflows – positioning it as “one of biggest energy projects in the world.”
He specifically spotlighted Bonga Southwest, thanking Tinubu for leadership that provides “line of sight with our partners.”
Sawan requested swift support to “officialise the framework,” paving the way for pre-Front-End Engineering Design (pre-FEED) immediately, full FEED soon after, and Final Investment Decision (FID) by 2027.
“Nigeria stands as one of the ones that is attracting more capital than most,” Sawan affirmed, calling Tinubu’s team “amongst the best that we are dealing with anywhere in the world.”
He positioned Shell as a “long standing partner” in realising Nigeria’s energy ambitions.
