The presidency announced on Tuesday that the 550 million dollar upstream gas project between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and TotalEnergies to develop the Ubeta field has commenced operations.
The Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, disclosed this during the inaugural US-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue hosted by the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC.
Recall that the 550 million dollar Final Investment Decision (FID) signing ceremony on the Ubeta Field Development Project occurred in Abuja in June 2024.
The Ubeta field, discovered in 1964, is located northwest of Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Verheijen, in a statement by Olufemi Soneye, Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC Ltd., said the upstream gas project would deliver 350 million standard cubic feet of gas per day when fully operational. She added that major energy reforms introduced by President Bola Tinubu since June 2023 focused on improving energy security, attracting investments and deepening collaboration with key partners, including the U.S. government.
The presidential aide said the key reforms had improved the viability of the country’s gas-to-power value chain. “The directives would unlock up to 2.5 billion dollars in the country’s new oil and gas investments. She listed the reforms as initiatives to improve cash flows in electricity distribution through smart metering, pay investors’ outstanding debts, and reduce carbon emissions from gas production.”
She said the President issued five new executive orders to provide fiscal incentives for investment and reduce the cost and time of finalising and implementing contracts to develop and expand gas infrastructure.
Geoffrey Pyatt, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Energy Resources, described the dialogue as appropriate and strategic. He stated, “The first U.S.-Nigeria Strategic Energy Dialogue has laid the groundwork for enhanced energy cooperation between the United States and Nigeria. Together, we are advancing common goals of energy security, decarbonization, and economic growth.”
The Nigerian delegation to the event was led by Ekperikpe Ekpo, Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas). Officials from the Ministry of Power, Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board, and NNPC Limited were also in attendance.
The US delegation included representatives from the Bureau of African Affairs, USAID, the US Department of Energy, the US Trade and Development Agency, and the Export-Import Bank.
