French energy giant TotalEnergies has announced plans to invest $750 million in a Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) project in Nigeria in 2025. Mike Sangster, the company’s Senior Vice President for Africa, revealed the initiative during the France-Nigeria Business Forum held in Paris on Friday.
The investment will fund the Ima project, a shallow water dry gas initiative aimed at boosting gas supplies to TotalEnergies’ LNG facilities. Sangster highlighted the project as part of efforts to enhance Nigeria’s hydrocarbon production.
“We have another dry gas project called Ima, which we hope to sanction next year for about $750 million,” Sangster stated.
This announcement follows a similar initiative unveiled earlier in the year—the Ubeta onshore gas field. The Ubeta project, developed in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) Limited, has a production capacity of 300 million cubic feet per day and is valued at $500 million.
Sangster also called for a relaxation of local content regulations to attract international contractors specializing in deep-water projects. He argued that easing restrictions would foster competition and unlock investments that are currently stalled.
While acknowledging progress in the sector, Sangster urged further regulatory simplification to accelerate investment processes.
“There’s still more to be done in terms of regulation, simplifying, and accelerating the process. However, the reforms introduced over the past year have motivated us to renew our investments in Nigeria,” he added.
Sangster expressed optimism about Nigeria’s energy sector, stating that the new incentives have encouraged TotalEnergies to work towards reversing the decline in oil and gas production.
The $750 million Ima project marks a significant step in TotalEnergies’ continued commitment to expanding its footprint in Nigeria’s energy industry, aligning with broader efforts to stabilize and grow the nation’s production capacity.
