Nigeria officially resolved the decades-long dispute over the OPL 245 offshore oil block by splitting it into four separate licences. This “historic settlement” between the Nigerian government, Eni, and Shell aims to finally unlock one of Africa’s largest untapped deepwater reserves, estimated to contain 9 billion barrels of oil.
New Asset Structure
The single OPL 245 block has been converted into two development and two exploration licences:
Petroleum Mining Leases (PML) 102 & 103, Designated for immediate development.
Petroleum Prospecting Leases (PPL) 2011 & 2012 , Designated for further exploration.
Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE), a subsidiary of Eni, will act as the operator.
Partner , The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Shell (via SNEPCO) are primary partners in the restructured assets.
The agreement includes the settlement of all outstanding claims and the discontinuation of international arbitration at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).
The presidency expects this deal to add approximately 150,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s total oil production.
The OPL 245 block had been frozen for nearly 30 years due to allegations of corruption stemming from a 2011 acquisition. While Italian courts acquitted Eni and Shell of bribery charges in 2021, legal gridlock in Nigeria and other jurisdictions continued to prevent development until this 2026 restructuring.
note by Alessandro Bazzoni