By Marvellous Nyang
March 2, 2026
Nigeria has restructured its long‑disputed Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 oilfield by dividing the concession into four separate blocks under a fresh agreement with Eni and Shell.
A source familiar with the development told Reuters on Monday that the deal could pave the way for commercial development of one of the country’s most contentious oil assets.
Historic dispute and legal battles
OPL 245, a deepwater offshore licence covering one of Nigeria’s richest unexplored oil prospects with an estimated 875 million barrels of recoverable oil, has lain undeveloped for nearly three decades amid complex litigation, overlapping claims and corruption allegations.
Originally awarded by the Nigerian government in 1998 to the locally owned Malabu Oil and Gas company under controversial circumstances involving then petroleum minister Dan Etete, the licence was later revoked and reallocated.
This triggered years of competing claims between Malabu, Shell and Nigeria’s government.
In 2011, a three‑way deal saw Shell and Eni pay approximately $1.3 billion for rights to the block, with most of the funds intended to compensate Malabu deposited into an escrow account in London.
The transaction later became the focal point of one of the largest cross‑border corruption investigations in oil industry history.
Prosecutors in Italy, the United Kingdom and Nigeria pursued separate cases alleging misappropriation of funds and illicit payments.
Courts eventually acquitted executives from both companies and dismissed many charges amid contested evidence, leaving the legal disputes unresolved for years.
Restructuring the licence into four new assets
Under the newly agreed arrangement, Nigeria has broken up the original OPL 245 concession into four distinct blocks, each intended to be operated jointly by Shell and Eni or through newly defined contractual frameworks.
The source said the restructuring is expected to settle long‑standing uncertainties around title and investment terms.
Formal contracts for development of the blocks are likely to be signed imminently.
Details on how ownership interests, operator roles and fiscal terms will be shared across the four blocks have not been officially disclosed by the Nigerian government, the national oil company or the foreign partners.
Industry analysts expect the reorganisation to align with recent reform efforts under the Petroleum Industry Act aimed at attracting investment into upstream assets that have languished on the shelf.
The new structure could unlock years of stalled investment, as OPL 245 has been widely viewed as a prize asset with substantial undeveloped reserves.
Its development, if realised, could contribute significantly to Nigeria’s oil output and government revenues, particularly at a time when the upstream sector seeks greater capital inflows and production growth.
Yet the history of OPL 245 also underscores the challenges Nigeria faces in balancing legal clarity, investor confidence and governance reform in its oil industry.
The outcome of the block split and the subsequent development progress will be closely watched by international energy markets, local stakeholders and anti‑corruption advocates alike.
OPL 245 is an undeveloped deepwater oil block offshore in the southern Niger Delta with estimated recoverable reserves that could rival some of the country’s most productive fields.
The bloc’s history has been marked by protracted disputes, multiple reallocations, and high‑profile corruption cases involving both Nigerian and international parties.
The new division into four blocks aims to resolve these disputes and stimulate investment and development work long delayed by legal and reputational risks.
