Shell, Sunlink approve HI gas project offshore Nigeria

Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Co. (SNEPCo) and partner Sunlink Energies and Resources have taken FID on the HI gas development offshore Nigeria.

The HI Field, discovered 50 km offshore in 1985, is in 100 m water depth. SNEPCo estimates the recoverable resource at about 285 MMboe.

The partnership will install a wellhead platform at the field location with four wells, with a multiphase pipeline transporting gas-condensate production to a gas processing plant onshore at Bonny Island.

Processed gas will be transferred to the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) complex, where a seventh liquefaction train is planned, for export to global markets. The condensate will head to the Bonny oil and gas export terminal.

At peak, the development will supply 350 MMcf/d of gas to NLNG, in which Shell has a 25% interest. The company expects startup before the end of this decade.

Peter Costello, Shell Upstream president, said the project “will help Shell grow our leading integrated gas portfolio, while supporting Nigeria’s plans to become a more significant player in the global LNG market”.

The increase in feedstock to NLNG, via the Train 7 project that aims to expand the Bonny Island terminal’s production capacity, is in line with Shell’s plans to grow its global LNG volumes by an average of 4-5% per year until 2030. It will also bolster NLNG’s contribution to Nigeria's national economic development goals, including jobs in construction and operations.