Houston-based energy services giant Halliburton has been awarded an integrated drilling contract to work on Shell’s shallow-water HI gas project located within OML 144 in offshore Nigeria.
Halliburton will deploy remote operations and automated technologies under the contract, whose financial details were not disclosed, according to a press statement on the company’s website.
“The company will deploy technologies integrated with LOGIX™ automation and remote operations to help improve drilling precision, efficiency, and safety in offshore operations,” said Shannon Slocum, president, Eastern Hemisphere at Halliburton.
“Our collaboration with SNEPCo (Shell’s subsidiary in Nigeria) and Sunlink Energies advances the HI gas field and contributes to the future of the energy industry in Nigeria.”
The HI project is a conversational gas and condensate development being undertaken by Shell (40%) and local partner Sunlink Energies (60%).
The development includes a wellhead platform with four wells, a gas processing plant and pipeline to transport multiphase gas to Bonny Island.
Both companies announced a $2bn FID on the project in mid-October 2025 to move it to the next phase, just two months after they had formalised a gas supply agreement with Nigeria LNG (NLNG) in Bonny.
At its peak output, the Shell-operated gas development project is expected to yield up to 350 mmcf/d (equivalent to 60,000 b/d).
All of these would be fed to the onboarding Saipem-built train 7 of NLNG, where Shell holds a 25.6% interest.
Before this drilling contract with Halliburton, Shell had in January awarded the project’s engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to China’s Offshore Oil Engineering Company (COOEC).
Halliburton says its “project management team will support the drilling execution and provide integrated services to deliver end-to-end solutions”.
The HI gas project is expected to begin production before the end of this decade.
In a recent interview with CNBC Arabia, Nigerian gas minister Ekperikpe Ekpo said FIDs taken on four projects including Iseni, HI, Ima and Obeta are expected to yield 1 bcf/d of gas by 2028.
Recall, Shell has recently also awarded Singapore-based offshore services firm Bluewhale Offshore a key contract to support its $5bn Bonga North development off the coast of Nigeria.