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Court rejects Nigeria’s $1.1bn damages request against Eni, Shell | Oil and Gas News

The main case revolved around an agreement in which Eni and Shell acquired the OPL 245 offshore oil field in 2011 in Nigeria.

An appeals court in Milan has denied Nigeria’s $1.1 billion claim against Italian energy group Eni and British oil company Shell in civil proceedings related to the deal. $1.3 billion oil field.

The decision was announced in court on Friday.

In July, prosecutors dropped the relevant criminal proceedings, clearing Eni and Shell, as well as top managers, including Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, in one of the largest alleged corruption cases of the global oil industry.

“We are pleased that these civil proceedings have been dismissed,” Shell said in an emailed comment to Reuters news agency.

“This follows the conclusion of the Milan criminal court that there is no case to answer for Shell or former Shell employees when they are acquitted in full in 2021, a decision upheld in July 2022, when criminal proceedings end,” it added.

Eni was not immediately available for comment.

The main case revolved around an agreement in which Eni and Shell acquired the offshore oil field OPL 245 in 2011 for $1.3 billion, to resolve a longstanding dispute over ownership.

Prosecutors allege that about $1.1 billion of the total was siphoned off to politicians and middlemen in Nigeria, then Africa’s largest oil producer.

The oil block was originally owned by a local company, where controversial former Petroleum Minister Dan Etete had a large stake.

A lawyer representing Nigeria in the proceedings added that the country is still deciding whether to appeal the decision in Italy’s top administrative court.

Documents explaining the reasoning behind Friday’s decision will be made available in 90 days.



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