By Reborn Jude | National News
TotalEnergies Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited is set to contribute an additional 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to Nigeria’s production capacity through two major projects expected to commence operations between 2027 and 2028.
The company’s Deputy Managing Director, Deepwater Assets, Victor Bandele, disclosed this during a panel session at the 2026 Nigeria Annual International Conference and Exhibition held in Lagos.
Bandele said investment incentives introduced by the administration of President Bola Tinubu in 2023 and 2024 had encouraged TotalEnergies and other operators to advance new offshore oil and gas projects.
According to him, the company’s Ubeta deepwater project is expected to commence production in 2027, while the Ima offshore field is scheduled for first oil in the fourth quarter of 2028.
Industry sources indicated that the two projects could each produce up to 70,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, potentially adding a combined 140,000 barrels of oil equivalent daily to Nigeria’s output.
The Ubeta field is located within Oil Mining Lease 58, about 80 kilometres offshore Port Harcourt, while the Ima field is situated offshore Port Harcourt under the AMNI/TotalEnergies joint venture.
Bandele said TotalEnergies took the Final Investment Decision on the Ubeta project in 2024 and that work on the project was progressing, with significant participation by Nigerian companies.
He noted that the policy incentives for offshore gas projects had helped revive investment in Nigeria’s deepwater sector after a prolonged period without new deepwater projects following the commencement of production from the Egina field in 2018.
“We took the Final Investment Decision on Ubeta in 2024. The Ubeta project is ongoing and should be in production next year,” Bandele said.
He added that the company was also close to concluding the Final Investment Decision for the Ima project, with production targeted for the fourth quarter of 2028.
Gas produced by the projects is expected to provide feedstock for Nigeria LNG Limited’s operations at Bonny Island, Rivers State, where Train 7 is under construction.
TotalEnergies, Shell and NNPC Limited had in August 2025 agreed to supply about 1.29 billion cubic feet of gas feedstock daily to NLNG.
Refined Products Overtake Crude Oil in UK-Nigeria Trade
Meanwhile, refined petroleum products have overtaken crude oil as the United Kingdom’s largest goods import from Nigeria.
Figures from the UK Department for Business and Trade showed that refined petroleum products accounted for 47.5 per cent of Britain’s goods imports from Nigeria in the 12 months ending March 2026.
The UK imported refined petroleum products worth £674.5 million from Nigeria during the period, compared with £438.9 million worth of crude oil.
Crude oil accounted for 30.9 per cent of the UK’s goods imports from Nigeria, while natural gas ranked third at £179.3 million, representing 12.6 per cent.
The figures also showed a 64.3 per cent decline in British crude oil imports from Nigeria compared with the preceding 12-month period, while natural gas imports increased by 6.9 per cent.
Other Nigerian products imported by the UK included coffee, tea and cocoa products worth £29.3 million, as well as processed fertilisers valued at £25.2 million.
Despite the changing trade composition, overall bilateral trade between Nigeria and the UK declined by 3.4 per cent to £7.3 billion in the four quarters ending March 2026.
UK exports to Nigeria fell by 0.9 per cent to £5.3 billion, while imports from Nigeria declined by 9.3 per cent to £2 billion.
The latest figures underscore the changing structure of Nigeria’s petroleum trade, as increased domestic refining capacity and new oil and gas investments reshape the country’s position in international energy markets.
