France’s energy giant TotalEnergies and its Nigerian local partner AMNI have decided to move forward with the development of a gas field off the African country’s coast, as a low-emission project set to supply roughly one-third of the feedstock required for the nation’s next liquefied natural gas (LNG) train, which is part of the existing liquefaction plant’s expansion.
The French firm and AMNI have made a final investment decision (FID) to develop the Ima gas field , straddling the OML 112 and 117 offshore licenses in Nigeria. Located in shallow waters close to Bonny Island, the gas field will be developed with a single platform, connected through a 22-kilometer pipeline to Nigeria LNG (NLNG), where partners are Shell (25.6%), NNPC (49%), TotalEnergies (15%), and Eni (10.4%).
The field’s production start-up is expected in 2028, with a plateau of 350 million cubic feet per day, representing over 60,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day. Ima is a low-cost and low-emissions development, with a simplified platform design, electric power supply from shore, no flaring, and permanent methane detection and monitoring.
TotalEnergies is the operator with a 40% interest, while its AMNI holds the remaining 60% stake as the French firm’s partner. The Ima field is anticipated to supply about one-third of the gas required for the ongoing Nigeria LNG Train 7 expansion project , which will boost the liquefaction plant capacity from 22 million tons per annum (mtpa) to 30 mtpa.
Nicolas Terraz , President Exploration & Production at TotalEnergies, commented: “We are very pleased to announce the FID for the Ima gas project, marking a new milestone in the deployment of our integrated gas strategy in Nigeria.
“After the Ubeta project sanctioned in 2024 and expected to start-up next year, Ima demonstrates again our ability to unlock new low-cost and low-emissions gas resources, following the incentives introduced by the Nigerian government for non-associated gas developments.”
This gas project is characterized by strong Nigerian content, with all key contractors being local companies. The undertaking will also contribute to local community development, with around 60% of the workforce expected to be sourced from host communities during the project development.
“This new project will contribute significantly to Nigeria LNG gas supply and create lasting value for its partners and for Nigeria,” Terraz emphasized.