• Shell has relaunched a tender for an FPSO for Bonga South West-Aparo

• The project targets output of about 150,000 barrels per day

• It signals renewed interest in Nigeria’s deepwater oil assets

After nearly a decade of uncertainty, the Bonga South West-Aparo offshore oil project, located off the coast of Nigeria, is moving back into focus. Anglo-Dutch major Shell has launched a new tender process for the supply of a floating production, storage, and offloading (FPSO) unit.

According to information reported yesterday by Upstream, the planned FPSO would be sized for production capacity of around 150,000 barrels per day. This step marks a resumption of preparatory work but does not yet constitute a final investment decision (FID), which has not been announced at this stage. In 2016, Shell had estimated the project’s investment cost at $12 billion.

Located in the deep offshore OML 118 block, southwest of the producing Bonga field, the Bonga South West-Aparo development has faced repeated delays since the mid-2010s. The oil price downturn that began in 2014, internal investment prioritization, and persistent contractual uncertainties all contributed to keeping the project on hold.

The renewed activity comes as Nigeria’s crude oil output remains below official targets. According to data from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), crude production averaged between 1.38 million and 1.53 million barrels per day over the first eleven months of 2025, well short of the 2 million barrels per day goal set by the authorities.

Renewed interest in Nigeria’s deepwater assets

At this stage, the tender process does not represent a definitive green light for field development. It nonetheless reflects renewed interest in Nigeria’s deepwater oil assets, which operators often favor due to their lower exposure to security disruptions affecting onshore infrastructure in the Niger Delta, according to several industry analyses.

The move aligns with similar signals from other operators in recent months. In May 2025, Ecofin Agency reported that U.S. major ExxonMobil had announced a $1.5 billion investment plan to revitalize its Nigerian deepwater assets, including the Usan field. However, the final investment decision expected by the regulator in the third quarter of 2025 has yet to be formally confirmed.

At the same time, French group TotalEnergies signed a production sharing contract (PSC) in September 2025 for two deepwater offshore blocks, PPL 2000 and PPL 2001, further expanding its Nigerian asset portfolio in this segment.

Abdel-Latif Boureima