The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC Ltd.) and its partners in OML 118 have signed key agreements to advance the Bonga South-West/Aparo deepwater project towards Final Investment Decision (FID).

NNPC announced the development in a press release on Monday, saying the project is expected to attract between $15 billion and $21 billion in investment and further boost Nigeria’s oil production capacity.

The agreements include addenda to the OML 118 Production Sharing Contract (PSC) and Dispute Settlement Agreement (DSA). They were signed by NNPC Ltd., Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), Esso Exploration and Production Nigeria Deepwater Limited, and Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited.

The Bonga South-West/Aparo project is projected to reach peak production of about 175,000 barrels of crude oil per day, alongside significant gas production.

NNPC said the development was facilitated by new incentives introduced by the Federal Government to encourage large-scale investment in Nigeria’s deepwater oil and gas sector.