Nigeria has divided the Opl 245 oil field into four new assets to be operated by Eni and Shell, a source told Reuters, potentially resolving the future of the field at the center of one of the largest corruption trials in the history of the oil industry.
The agreement paves the way for the development of Opl 245, one of Nigeria's largest deepwater reserves, which has remained untapped for nearly thirty years due to overlapping legal disputes in several countries.
Final contracts are expected to be signed starting today, according to a source close to the situation. The Nigerian government has signaled for several years its intention to find a solution that would allow production to begin at the field. The source requested anonymity as they were not authorized to comment on the government's action prior to an official announcement.
After initially being awarded in 1998 to Malabu—a company linked to former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete—the license was later sold to Shell and Eni.
Italian prosecutors later alleged that most of the $1.3 billion purchase price for the Opl 245 license was diverted to politicians and intermediaries. The two European energy giants and some of their former and current executives, including Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, went on trial in Italy, but all were acquitted in 2021, having always denied any wrongdoing.
Eni and Shell declined to comment. The Nigerian state oil company Nnpc has so far made no statement.
(Translated by Jasmine Mazzarello, editing Sabina Suzzi)
