Shell finalises investment on Bonga north deepwater project to tap 300m barrels of crude

Shell Plc says its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo), has announced a final investment decision (FID) on Bonga north, a deepwater project off the coast of Nigeria.

In a statement on Monday, Shell said the Bonga North will be a subsea tie-back to its Bonga floating production storage and offloading (FPSO) facility which it operates with a 55 percent interest.

“The Bonga North project involves drilling, completing, and starting up 16 wells (8 production and 8 water injection wells), modifications to the existing Bonga Main FPSO and the installation of new subsea hardware tied back to the FPSO,” the statement reads.

According to the company, the project will maintain oil and gas production at the Bonga facility.

Shell said Bonga north currently has an estimated recoverable resource volume of over 300 million barrels of oil equivalent (boe) and will reach a peak production of 110,000 barrels of oil a day, “with first oil anticipated by the end of the decade”.

Speaking on the development, Zoë Yujnovich, Shell’s integrated gas and upstream director, said the FID is another significant investment, which will “help us to maintain stable liquids production from our advantaged Upstream portfolio”.

Yujnovich said Bonga north will help ensure Shell’s leading integrated gas and upstream business continues to drive cash generation into the next decade.

SNEPCo operates the Bonga field in partnership with Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd, which holds a 20 percent interest, Nigerian Agip Exploration Ltd. (12.5 percent), and TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Ltd. (12.5 percent), on behalf of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC).

Bonga is a deepwater development located in an oil mining lease (OML 118), at water depths exceeding 1,000 meters.

Production at the Bonga FPSO began in 2005, with a capacity to produce 225,000 barrels of oil per day.

Shell said the project produced its one-billionth barrel of crude oil in 2023.