The HI gas field is located in the OML 144 block in the Niger Delta, offshore Nigeria.
Sunlink Energies and Resources, a Nigeria-based oil and gas company, was allocated the block in 2004 and farmed out a 40% equity stake to Shell in 2005.
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A joint venture between Sunlink (60%) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo) (40%), a subsidiary of Shell, was formed to develop the field.
The initial field development plan (FDP) for the project was approved in 2019 and an updated FDP was approved in 2024.
In October 2025, the partners took the final investment decision on the development, which is valued at around $2bn.
The development is supported by Nigeria’s Presidential Directive 40, which established a more competitive fiscal regime for non-associated gas projects in onshore and shallow-water areas.
First gas from the HI development is expected in 2028.
Location
The HI gas field lies in the south-western part of the OML 144 block, around 50km from the shore. It was discovered more than four decades ago, in 1985.
Block OML 144 covers an area of 96km2 and has an average water depth of 100m.
The wider area contains producing Miocene to Pliocene reservoirs, with nearby fields including Shokoloko, Toriye, Odium, Ofrima and Eweri.
The main targets are stacked clastic reservoirs with strong porosity and permeability, formed by shelf to slope sands of Upper Miocene to Pleistocene age.
Reserves
Recoverable resources for the HI project are currently estimated at 285 million barrels of oil equivalent (mboe).
HI gas field development plan
The field development concept centres on a wellhead platform with four-deck topsides supported by a four-legged jacket, and power supplied by a hybrid wind and solar system. Four wells are set to be drilled at the field using a jack-up drilling platform.
A new pipeline will export multi-phase production to Bonny Island for processing, after which gas will be routed to the Nigeria LNG (NLNG) plant, in which Shell owns a 25.6% interest, and condensate will be sent to the Bonny export terminal.
The NLNG plant currently operates six liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains, with a seventh train under construction, which will increase Nigeria’s LNG output by eight million tonnes a year.
The HI gas field will supply 350 million standard cubic feet per day (approximately 60 thousand barrels of oil equivalent) at peak production to Train 7 of the NLNG plant.
The field, along with the recently approved Ubeta gas field, can supply up to 15% of the NLNG’s total feedgas requirements, covering Trains 1 to 7.
Contractors involved
China Offshore Oil Engineering Co. (COOEC), an engineering and construction company based in China, was awarded the engineering, procurement and construction contract for the topsides module and jacket of the wellhead platform.
The jacket was completed at the Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Base in November 2025. COOEC completed the delivery of all the components in February 2026.
US-based oilfield services provider Halliburton secured an integrated drilling services contract in November 2025 for the development of the HI gas field. The company will apply technologies linked to LOGIX™ automation and remote operations, aiming to enhance wellbore accuracy, operational efficiency and safety across offshore drilling activities.
Petroplat Energy, a Nigeria-based engineering consultancy, delivered a suite of project risk assessment documents covering fire and blast hazards, the resilience of emergency response systems, and escape, evacuation and rescue studies, among others, for the HI gas project.
