After 15-Year Malabu Saga, Tinubu Strikes OPL 245 Settlement with Eni

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on Thursday announced a landmark settlement in one of Nigeria’s most controversial oil disputes, formally bringing to a close the 15‑year battle over Oil Prospecting Licence (OPL) 245 – the offshore block at the heart of the notorious Malabu oil scandal.

Under a settlement agreement signed in Abuja between the Federal Government of Nigeria, Italian energy giant Eni and its subsidiary Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAEL), the long‑running legal and commercial stalemate over OPL 245 has been resolved, clearing the way for major deepwater investment and fresh production.

The deal, unveiled at a meeting in the State House with Eni’s Chief Executive Officer, Claudio Descalzi, Chief Operating Officer Guido Brusco, Head of Sub‑Saharan Region Mario Bello, Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Exploration Fabrizio Bolondi, and the President’s Special Adviser on Energy, Olu Arowolo‑Verheijen, restores certainty to an asset widely regarded as one of Nigeria’s most commercially promising deepwater blocks.

With the dispute now settled, government officials say the path is open for a Final Investment Decision (FID) on the long‑delayed Zabazaba–Etan development. The project is expected to add about 150,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s oil output, bolstering production and foreign exchange earnings at a time the country is seeking to reverse declining output and rebuild investor confidence.

Tinubu hailed the agreement as a “strategic milestone” in his administration’s economic reform drive and a signal that Nigeria is prepared to confront and resolve legacy disputes that have deterred investment for over a decade.

“This resolution sends a clear signal to global investors that Nigeria is prepared to address legacy issues transparently, uphold the rule of law, and create a stable environment for long‑term capital,” the President said.

Olu Arowolo‑Verheijen, the President’s adviser on energy, said the new deal represents “a significant improvement on the 2011 Resolution Agreement,” noting that it is anchored in the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) and aligned with broader fiscal and governance reforms in the oil and gas sector.

“The revised terms strike a balanced outcome providing investors with the clarity and predictability required to proceed with major deepwater investments, while ensuring stronger value accretion and safeguards for the Federation,” she said.

According to Arowolo‑Verheijen, resolving the OPL 245 dispute removes “one of the most prominent legacy risks in Nigeria’s upstream sector” and is part of a wider package of reforms since 2023 aimed at restoring Nigeria’s competitiveness in global energy markets. These reforms, built on the PIA and backed by targeted executive actions, have already begun to spur renewed investor interest and capital inflows into the sector, she added.

Tinubu commended the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, the Ministry of Petroleum Resources, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), NNPC Limited, his energy adviser’s office and Eni’s leadership for their roles in bringing the impasse to an end.

“The successful resolution underscores this administration’s determination to unlock Nigeria’s strategic energy assets, attract responsible investment, and ensure that the nation’s resources translate into growth, jobs, and long-term prosperity for Nigerians,” the President said.

The Malabu–OPL 245 Scandal

The OPL 245 block has for years been synonymous with one of Nigeria’s most controversial corruption cases.

Originally awarded in 1998 to Malabu Oil and Gas, a company linked to then Petroleum Minister Dan Etete, the block became the focus of global scrutiny after a 2011 transaction in which Eni and Shell paid $1.3 billion for rights to the block. A large portion of that sum ended up under Malabu’s control, triggering allegations that public resources had effectively been diverted through politically connected intermediaries.

Civil society groups in Nigeria and abroad branded OPL 245 “the scandal of the century,” arguing that the deal cheated Nigerians out of billions of dollars’ worth of oil resources. The fallout sparked criminal and civil proceedings in multiple jurisdictions, including Nigeria, Italy and the United Kingdom, ensnaring former officials and senior oil executives. While some high‑profile prosecutions collapsed or ended in acquittals, the block remained locked in legal disputes for more than a decade, deterring investment and freezing development.

The Tinubu administration’s settlement draws a line under that era of paralysis, seeking to recast OPL 245 from a global symbol of oil‑sector corruption into a test case for Nigeria’s new legal and regulatory framework under the Petroleum Industry Act and its pledge of more transparent, commercially sound management of the nation’s vast hydrocarbon resources.