Italian energy major Eni has resolved a long-running legal dispute over Oil Prospecting Licence 245 (OPL 245) in Nigeria, unlocking the way for one of the country’s most significant deepwater oil developments in years.
Under a settlement with the Federal Government of Nigeria, OPL 245 has been converted into two Petroleum Mining Leases — PML 102 and PML 103 — and two Petroleum Prospecting Leases (PPL 2011 and 2012). The agreement ended arbitration proceedings at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited will operate the licenses in partnership with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO).
The resolution opens the door to development of the Zabazaba and Etan deepwater fields under PML 102 and 103. The Etan-Zabazaba project holds an estimated 500 million barrels of reserves and is planned around a 150,000-barrel-per-day Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) facility, with associated gas volumes of up to 200 million standard cubic feet per day at peak to be exported to Nigeria LNG.
Eni, which has operated in Nigeria since 1962, discussed its expanded offshore portfolio during a meeting between Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi in Abuja. The company also recently increased its stake in OML 118 to 15% and currently produces approximately 55,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day on an equity basis in Nigeria, with interests also in the Abo and Bonga fields.
Source: World Oil