Lokpobiri: Nigeria has resolved all issues on OPL 245

The federal government says Nigeria has resolved all issues regarding OPL 245, the oil prospecting licence that has been an at centre of controversy for ages.

Speaking at the annual NOG Energy Week in Abuja on Tuesday, Heineken Lokpobiri, minister of state for petroleum resources (oil), said the res0lution was achievable owing to the intervention of President Bola Tinubu. 

In February, the minister said Tinubu had directed that all disputes surrounding the OPL 245 deal should be amicably resolved. 

Speaking at the event, Lokpobiri said after Tinubu’s directive, a meeting was held with the attorney-general of the federation, Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited, as well as officials of Eni to address the persisting issues.

“I am happy to announce to you that we have resolved all the issues, so very soon we should be expecting investments in tens of billions of dollars,” he said.

THE OPL 245 SAGA

In 2011, Shell and Eni paid $1.1 billion to acquire OPL 245 after Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd, the original allottee, relinquished its entire interest in the oil block.

This followed a settlement brokered by the Nigerian government to end a 10-year legal dispute on the acreage, which is considered to be one of the richest in Africa.

The oil companies also paid a signature bonus of $210 million to the Nigerian government. 

However, activists launched an international campaign alleging that the OPL 245 deal was fraudulent and that the proceeds were used to bribe government officials.

STRING OF LOSSES

When former President Muhammadu Buhari came to office in 2015, his administration started a series of litigation against Royal Dutch Shell, Eni/Nigeria Agip Exploration (NAE), Shell Nigeria Ultra Deep (SNUD) Ltd, and Shell Nigeria Exploration Company (SNEPCO) over the allegations.

On March 17, 2021, an Italian court acquitted Shell, Eni and all defendants of corruption charges in the $1.1 billion deal.

In April 2020, the US Securities and Exchange Commission also closed an investigation into the deal after it could not prove fraud or corruption.

Also in June 2022, Nigeria lost its $1.7 billion claim against JP Morgan Bank over the transfers of proceeds from the sale of the oil block to Malabu’s directors.

After several losses, the federal government, in November 2023, withdrew its $1.1 billion civil suit against Eni and Shell in relation to the OPL 245 deal in Italian courts. 

In March, Mohammed Bello Adoke, the Nigerian attorney-general when the OPL 245 resolution agreement was signed in 2011, was discharged by a Federal Capital Territory high court over allegations of bribery and corruption in the transaction.

Also discharged and acquitted by the court are Aliyu Abubakar, a businessman; Rasky Gbinigie, Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd’s company secretary; Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd; Nigeria Agip Exploration (NAE); Shell Ultra Deep Nigeria (SNUD) Ltd; and Shell Nigeria Exploration Production Company (SNEPCO) Ltd.