SHELL VS MALABU: THE OPL 245 SAGA


  Containing nearly 9 billion barrels of reserves, OPL 245 in Nigeria's offshore has be the theatre of an epic struggle for nearly 10 years between Shell and the local Nigerian firm Malabu Oil & Gas owned by former oil minister Dan Etete. Africa Energy Intelligence has followed each turn in the discreet but hugely important battle. Ten years of reports.
 
Secret negotiations
(7 ARTICLES)
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°671 - 14/03/2012
NIGERIA
OPL245: What lay behind $1.3 billion deal
None of the parties involved in last year’s acquisition by Shell and ENI of OPL 245 previously controlled by Malabu Oil & Gas headed by Dan Etete has said the least word in public about the deal. It was one of the biggest transactions ever in Nigeria’s offshore, but also one of the most secretive (see complete file). (...)  [689 words]   [€8]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°669 - 15/02/2012
NIGERIA
OPL 245: Middlemen pushed aside
The case is so secretive that both sides have asked that their names be redacted and replaced by the words “anonymous” on certain filings. (...)  [533 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°665 - 14/12/2011
IVORY COAST
End game for OPL 245
Revealed by Africa Energy Intelligence this summer (AEI 656 and 657), a bid by RoyalDutch Shell and Agip for Malibu Oil and Gas’ OPL 245 is almost sewn up. (...)  [323 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°661 - 19/10/2011
NIGERIA
Dele Adesina & Co.
With state-owned NNPC refusing to approve the sale of Malabu Oil & Gas’ holding on OPL 245 to Shell (AEI 657), the latter is multiplying its lobbying efforts with the government of Goodluck Jonathan to get NNPC to change its mind. (...)  [148 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°657 - 24/08/2011
NIGERIA
Secret saga behind a 9 billion barrel block
After ten years of maneuvering and court cases, Shell ended up by offering to buy Malabu Oil & Gas ’ offshore block OPL 245 (see our report in AEI 656). The stakes in the game were indeed high. Lying alongside Total ’s Akpo block, the acreage could contain up to 9. (...)  [590 words]   [€8]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°656 - 20/07/2011
NIGERIA
OPL 245 saga draws to a close
After more than 10 years of squabbling and court cases, Shell and Malabu Oil & Gas owned by former oil minister Dan Etete are about to call a halt to their tug-of-war on OPL 245 which houses potential reserves of 3 billion barrels. (...)  [260 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°651 - 11/05/2011
NIGERIA
New bout of arbitration
The International Center for Settlement of Investment DIsputes (ICSID) isn’t giving up on arbitrating a dispute that pits Nigeria against RoyalDutch/Shell on OPL 245, even if the two sides seem to be dragging their feet in the matter. (...)  [208 words]   [€1,5]
Malabu exacts its revenge
(4 ARTICLES)
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°650 - 20/04/2011
NIGERIA
Nabil Elaraby
Named Egypt’s foreign minister on March 6, lawyer Nabil Elaraby from the Zaki Hashem & Partners firm resigned on the occasion from all of his arbitration work. (...)  [146 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°641 - 08/12/2010
NIGERIA
Presidential Deal on OPL 245
Secret talks between RoyalDutch/Shell and Nigeria concerning OPL 245, which were revealed by Africa Energy Intelligence(No. (...)  [170 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°638 - 27/10/2010
NIGERIA
Stalemate in Arbitration
Arbitration proceedings pitting RoyalDutch/Shell against Nigeria over the OPL 245 oil block before the International Center for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) have failed to make any headway since this spring. (...)  [178 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°620 - 20/01/2010
NIGERIA
The Fight Gets Rougher for Shell
Negotiations on renewing RoyalDutch/Shell’s producing licenses in Nigeria are now at a critical stage. To turn up the heat on the Nigerian government, the Anglo-Dutch major has hinted it could sell off its Nigerian assets. (...)  [259 words]   FREE
Shell's great coup
(13 ARTICLES)
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°360 - 31/12/2003
NIGERIA
A Long Wait for Acreage
During the last official licensing round organized by the Nigerian government, Petrobras was awarded OPL 324 in the deep offshore of the Niger Delta in December, 2000. (...)  [378 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°347 - 04/06/2003
NIGERIA
Shell Asked to Pay $550 Mn
A report by the Nigerian parliament's Petroleum Resources Committee on the transfer of OPL 245 from Malabu Oil & Gas to RoyalDutch/Shell has recommended that the Anglo-British firm be fined $550 million. (...)  [191 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°343 - 02/04/2003
NIGERIA
Suit Against Nigerian Parliament
RoyalDutch/Shell's lawyer in its case against the Nigerian firm Malabu Oil & Gas, Omonigbo Okpoko, has filed a suit against the Nigerian parliament which has been staging hearings into the case for some months. (...)  [98 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°342 - 19/03/2003
NIGERIA
No Negotiations with Malabu
Representing RoyalDutch/Shell in the dispute pitting it against the Nigerian company Malabu Oil & Gas, the law firm Omonigbo Okpoko has turned down an offer made by several of Malabu's lawyers. (...)  [77 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°341 - 05/03/2003
AFRICA
Dr. Total and Mr. Elf
When he presented his group's results for 2002 last week, TotalFinaElf boss Thierry Desmaret said his company would be re-named Total in May. The announcement came as the ?Elf scandal,? which kept the French financial police busy over the past six years, was due to be aired in a Paris courtroom later this month. (...)  [690 words]   [€8]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°333 - 06/11/2002
NIGERIA
Shell in Secret Talks
A left-over from a bidding round two years ago, OPL 256 currently forms the object of secret negotiations between Nigeria's department of petroleum resources and RoyalDutch/Shell. (...)  [283 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°328 - 28/08/2002
NIGERIA
Oil Putsch Against Obasanjo
An attempt to topple Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo in early August stemmed largely from oil disputes and in particular from the showdown revealed by Africa Energy Intelligence (AEI 220) which pits the Nigerian government and RoyalDutch/Shell against Malabu Oil & Gas, a company owned by Sani Abacha's one-time oil minister, Dan Etete. (...)  [699 words]   [€8]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°328 - 28/08/2002
NIGERIA
Banned from Representing Shell
The Nigerian lawyer chief Afe Babolala, who represented RoyalDutch/Shell during a hearing organized by the Nigerian Parliament on the OPL 245 case, has been forbidden by legislators from continuing to advise the Anglo-Dutch group in the affair. (...)  [112 words]   [€1,5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°327 - 24/07/2002
NIGERIA
Arbitration Set for OPL 245
When RoyalDutch/Shell was awarded OPL 245 that had previously been owned by Malabu Oil & Gas, a company controlled by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, in May, the group immediately submitted a request for arbitration on ownership of the field to the International Chamber of Commerce in London. (...)  [288 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°325 - 26/06/2002
NIGERIA
Shell's Woes on OPL 245
To try to head off a suit filed by Dan Etete on the conditions in which OPL 245 was awarded to Shell, the company has called for international arbitrage. (...)  [406 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°323 - 29/05/2002
NIGERIA
Obasanjo vs Etete 2nd Round
According to our sources, RoyalDutch/Shell was awarded OPL 245, a block previously owned by Malabu Oil & Gas, a company controlled by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete, on May 24. (...)  [245 words]   [€5]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°320 - 10/04/2002
NIGERIA
Dan Etete's Case in U.S. Court
Dan Etete, oil adviser to the late Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha, could return to his country's petroleum and political arena in a big way if a trial that will shortly pit the Nigerian firm Malabu Oil & Gas against the Nigerian government turns to his advantage. (...)  [689 words]   [€8]
AFRICA ENERGY INTELLIGENCE n°319 - 27/03/2002
NIGERIA
Law Suit Filed for OPL 245
To recover the license that was withdrawn from it in July, 2001, the Nigerian firm Malabu Oil & Gas could file a suit against the Nigerian government in the United States, AEI has learned. (...)  [405 words]   [€5]


Nigeria | OPL 245 | Royal Dutch/Shell | Shell | Malabu Oil & Gas | Dan Etete


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