By Emmanuella Anokam

The TotalEnergies Limited says it will unveil its shallow water 70,000 barrels per day (bpd) Ima gas field project in Nigeria by 2026.

The Country Chairman/Managing Director, TotalEnergies Nigeria, Matthieu Bouyer, disclosed this in Abuja at the Nigeria Oil and Gas (NOG) Energy Week 2025.

Speaking at a strategic panel session tagged “Pragmatically Achieving Energy Abundance’’, Bouyer said the project would feed the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas (NLNG), one of the largest LNG plants in the world.

Bouyer said 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 said the company 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.

“And 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.’’

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports 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.

Bouyer described the Ubeta Field as significant as it would produce more or less 70,000bpd.

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 Ltd. (NNPC Ltd.) 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 national electrification plans with clear commercial priorities and independent regulators without political obstructions.

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. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Chijioke Okoronkwo