General
TotalEnergies to Unveil 70,000bpd Ima Gas Field Project in 2026
By Adedapo Adesanya
TotalEnergies Limited has announced plans to unveil its shallow water 70,000 barrels per day Ima gas field project in Nigeria by 2026.
The Country Chairman/Managing Director of TotalEnergies Nigeria, Mr Matthieu Bouyer, disclosed this in Abuja at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2025 during a panel session tagged Pragmatically Achieving Energy Abundance.
Mr Bouyer said the project would feed the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), one of the largest LNG plants in the world, saying the company was committed to increasing oil and gas production in a sustainable manner.
“Ima is another gas-field project offshore, which we intend to unveil in the coming year. It is a 70,000 barrels per day field; so that is already 140 barrels per day to accumulate by the two gas projects.
“So, that is significant; NLNG is one of the largest plants in the world, and today I think it is starting to get more gas,” he stated, noting that the firm had been careful of emissions while growing energy.
“We have been investing significantly in the past 15 years in Nigeria with a big project such as Egina,OML 13/2018, Ikike OML 99/2022, and Akpo West OML 130/2009, which we started in 2024.
“We have been drilling continuously up to this time on our deep offshore in the past two and a half years.
“So, the commitment to the country is undeniable, and we believe in Nigeria, in the resources, in the country, and we believe that there is a great future in Nigeria.
“In 2024, we inaugurated the Ubeta OML 58 project; Ubeta is a significant gas lag field onshore, which will supply gas to Nigeria Liquefied NG, and to the domestic market,” he added.
Mr Bouyer disclosed that the Ubeta project within the OML 58 concession is designed for processing subsequent export to NLNG and domestic gas parties through the Obite-Ubeta-Rumuji (OUR) or Gas Transmission System -1 (GTS) pipelines, describing the Ubeta field as significant as it would produce more or less 70,000 barrels per day.
He added that its Final Investment Decision (FID) showed a clear demonstration of good rule and regulation in place in the country.
“So, by doing this, we demonstrate the commitment, and we are of course keen to go all over the chain, up to NLNG.
“We have more, and to be able to unlock this more, we need to demonstrate this competitiveness,’’ he said.
He thanked the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), for exhibiting the trust in them.
The managing director said the company had been active in the exploration sphere, and that two years ago made a discovery called ENTPON, an oil discovery which it made on the offshore, and currently progressing and maturing the assessment.
He said it deployed technology to achieve less emission, as it was the first company in Nigeria to stop all routine gas flaring.
Mr Adewale Fayemi, Managing Director, TotalEnergies Renewable DG Nigeria, highlighted the roles of renewables in the future energy mix.
He called for a national electrification plans with clear commercial priorities and independent regulators without political obstructions.
Mr Fayemi, represented by Omotayo Hassan, General Manager, Renewables, TotalEnergies Renewable DG Nigeria, said that the firm focused on the off-grid solar power generation.
He called for the creation of enabling business environment.
“We need to have national electrification plans that have clear commercial priorities because that drives investor confidence; the reality is that investors go to places where they can get their money back.
“The regulator has to be independent, without any political influence or political obstruction.
“It is important that the community, gender, young people are interested in the projects that you do because it provides resilience for those projects.
“We need to strongly look at long-term local currency financing. It is a must. Forex issues have always been a problem, and that has to happen.
“Fragmentation chases away investors; so, that is also something that needs to be dealt with,’’ he said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The National Economic Council (NEC) has approved a $4.5 billion arrangement for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited aimed at strengthening the country’s external reserves and freeing up funds for infrastructure.
This is part of the refinancing of the $3.3 billion Project Gazelle Pre-Export Finance Facility through a new $4.5 billion facility named “Project Gazelle 2”.
The approval allows NNPC Limited to refinance the outstanding balance of approximately $1.5 billion under the original 2023 facility, while unlocking an additional $3 billion in liquidity to strengthen the country’s external reserves and support ongoing fiscal and infrastructure priorities of the government.
NEC’s approval followed a presentation by the Minister of Finance, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which was presented by the Chairman of the Council, Vice President Kashim Shettima, underscoring the importance of the project.
NEC observed the significance of unlocking additional liquidity to the federation, among other benefits, pledging its support for the actualisation of the initiative.
The Finance Minister explained that the refinancing has been structured on more favourable terms than the original facility, including a reduction in the volume of pledged crude oil from 90,000 barrels of oil per day to approximately 78,750 barrels of oil per day – a 12.5 per cent reduction.
He noted that under the new arrangement, an additional 11,250 barrels of oil per day for the federation will be released, while there will be a reduction in the pledged crude volumes by the state oil company.
Mr Oyedele added that while accessing additional liquidity on improved terms, the arrangement is freeing up resources for strategic national priorities while strengthening the country’s financing structures.
“The arrangement is freeing up resources for strategic national priorities while strengthening the country’s financing structures,” he said.
VP Shettima called for a responsive, scalable, and data-driven social protection policy to tackle multidimensional poverty in Nigeria.
According to Mr Shettima, government policies are often heard before they are seen, speak through the price of food, condition of hospitals, records in schools, strain on families, the confidence of those who invest their labour in the nation’s future, and, very importantly, the ambitions of state governments.
He implored members of Council to ensure that every decision they make assure the citizens “that their government is paying attention to the pulse of the nation and is resolved to respond with competence, compassion and purpose.”
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Members of the public have been invited to submit memoranda and policy proposals on the proposed National Policing Bill.
The Chairman of the Working Group, Mr Femi Gbajabiamila, announced this on Monday after the team’s meeting at the State House in Abuja.
The group, headed by the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, is calling for input from Nigerians as part of efforts to establish a comprehensive legal and operational framework for state policing.
It is reviewing the Police Act 2020, the Police Service Commission framework, police regulations, and other relevant laws to support the development of an effective, modern policing system.
The proposed framework will set national minimum standards, define state readiness and grant certification, clarify jurisdictional responsibilities, ensure independent oversight, uphold human rights, and guarantee sustainable funding. It would also spell out an orderly transition to a dual-policing structure.
The call for memoranda will run for two weeks, allowing citizens, professionals, civil society, security agencies, state and local governments, academics, and other stakeholders to contribute. Submissions will be reviewed and integrated into the draft bill, which will then be subject to further national consultation before being finalised and sent to the National Assembly.
The Working Group has adopted a seven-week work programme running from July 27 to September 14, 2026. The draft Executive Bill is scheduled for presentation to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on September 3, 2026, with national consultations to follow before the final approval.
The new National Policing Bill will set out requirements for recruitment, training, oversight, funding, and transition arrangements to ensure credible, effective, and accountable policing nationwide.
“A proposed State Police Service must demonstrate that it has credible arrangements for recruitment, vetting, training, pay, pensions, equipment, custody, complaints, discipline, data, firearms control, independent oversight and financial sustainability before it begins policing,” Mr Gbajabiamila said.
The representative of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum and Governor of Ogun State, Dapo Abiodun, who described State Police as a landmark reform, described the initiative as one of the defining reforms of President Tinubu’s administration.
Responding to concerns about federal overreach, he clarified that there is no Federal attempt to control State Police. He added that the proposed legislation is intended to provide an operational framework rather than centralise control.
Prince Lateef Fagbemi, the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, said the proposed National Policing Bill is designed to guarantee the security of lives and property while ensuring that the establishment of state police does not become a tool for political persecution.
The Attorney-General added that states not immediately ready to establish their own police services would continue to benefit from the presence of the Federal Police until they meet the required standards.
Other participants at the meeting included the Inspector General of Police, Tunji Disu; President of the Nigerian Bar Association, Afam Osigwe; Chairman, Policy Advisory Committee, Justice Abdullahi Liman (rtd); Professor Olu Ogunsakin, Head, Nigeria Police Reform Secretariat; Senior Special Assistant to the President on Planning and Research, Nnadubem Moghalu; and Brigadier General Olutayo Muyiwa Adesuyi, representing the National Security Adviser.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) says it recorded a 30 per cent reduction in gas imbalance on the country’s Western Network following the conclusion of its first-half 2026 Nigerian Gas Network Reconciliation (NGNR) Workshop.
The workshop brought together gas transporters, suppliers, shippers and off-takers to reconcile gas volumes traded between January and June 2026, while introducing a Network Entry/Exit Point Measurement Infrastructure Audit Template aimed at improving metering accuracy and accountability across the gas transmission network.
In a communiqué issued after the workshop, the authority said participants also reviewed the performance of the Nigerian Gas Transmission Network, assessed progress on major pipeline infrastructure projects, and received updates on the ELPS Gas Shrinkage Factor and Hydraulic Modelling Project.
Discussions focused on addressing metering gaps, improving network visibility through Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) integration, and enhancing system reliability ahead of the commissioning of the Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) Pipeline System.
The workshop adopted key resolutions, including the execution of outstanding Network Exit Agreements, mandatory submission of measurement audit templates and closer collaboration among industry stakeholders to improve network pressure management.
Speaking at the closing session on behalf of the authority’s chief executive, Mr Rabiu A. Umar, the Director of Transportation Systems and Networks, Mr Joseph G. Musa, said the biannual reconciliation exercise had become critical to promoting equitable gas transactions, transparency, investor confidence and efficient network operations.
Mr Musa noted that since the NGNR process was introduced in 2023, it had significantly improved gas measurement, strengthened regulatory compliance through consequence management, reduced operational imbalances and contributed to a more reliable domestic gas supply.
The workshop concluded with participants adopting the reconciled H1 2026 gas volumes, reaffirming the authority’s commitment to a transparent, efficient and reliable domestic gas market.
