The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd) and partners in Oil Mining Lease (OML) 118 have signed agreements to advance the Bonga South West/Aparo (BSWAp) deepwater project towards Final Investment Decision (FID).
The agreements were signed on Monday by NNPC and the OML 118 contractor parties, comprising Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria (Deepwater) Limited and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE).
The agreements include an addendum to the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and an addendum to the Dispute Settlement Agreement (DSA).
According to NNPC spokesperson Andy Adeh, the development represents a major milestone towards the advancement of the BSWAp project, which is expected to attract about $15 billion in investment.
The agreement follows President Bola Tinubu’s approval of the Deep Offshore Oil and Gas Projects Incentives (Tax Remission) Order, 2026, aimed at improving the investment environment for deepwater oil and gas developments.
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The Bonga South West/Aparo project is located in OML 118, one of Nigeria’s major deepwater oil blocks.
NNPC said the project has the potential to unlock significant investment and contribute to Nigeria’s oil production capacity.
The development is also expected to support the government’s efforts to attract fresh capital into the upstream petroleum sector, particularly deepwater projects that require substantial investment and long development timelines.
The OML 118 partners are expected to continue work towards reaching FID, which would pave the way for the full development of the BSWAp project.
NNPC and its partners have previously advanced other developments in the Bonga area. Shell took FID on the Bonga North project in 2024, with the development expected to sustain production from the wider Bonga field.
The latest agreement comes as Nigeria seeks to reverse years of declining investment and production in its upstream oil sector by improving fiscal terms and providing greater certainty for investors.
NNPC and the OML 118 partners said the execution of the agreements demonstrates continued collaboration between the government and international oil companies in developing Nigeria’s deepwater resources.
