Malabu Oil Deal: Court Fixes May 18 For Hearing

The application was made ex-parte by plaintiff for leave of court to serve writ of summons on the 3rd defendant.

The case is between the Federal Government, Anglo-Dutch oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell, ENI and some former minsters.

On March 17, Justice Tsoho returned Oil the OPL 245 oil block to Shell, ENI.

The court had earlier issued an order forfeiting OPL 245 to the Nigerian government pending the conclusion of investigations into the controversy that had characterized the Malabu oil deal.

The order followed a motion by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, who argued that the process through which the multinational oil companies, Shell and ENI, acquired the oil block was flawed.

OPL245 is considered one of Nigeria’s richest oil blocks and estimated to contain over 9 billion barrels of crude.

Apart from Shell and ENI, who want the block back, Malabu, the firm to which the block was originally assigned by the Nigerian government in 1998 under controversial circumstances, also sought to retake possession of the block.

Recall that Shell for the first time on Monday finally admitted it had foreknowledge that the $1.3 billion itself and ENI paid to Nigerian government for the OPL 245 oil block licence would ultimately be used to settle convicted former Minister of Petroleum, Dan Etete.

“Over time, it became clear to us that Etete was involved in Malabu and that the only way to resolve the impasse through a negotiated settlement was to engage with Etete and Malabu, whether we liked it or not,” the New York Times quoted Andy Norman, a spokesperson for Shell, as saying in an email Monday.

The Dutch oil giant knew the Nigerian government “would compensate Malabu to settle its claim on the block,” Mr. Norman added.

The confession came a day after intercepted telephone conversation between Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, and his then chief financial officer, Simon Henry, revealed the oil firm knew Mr. Etete was the main beneficiary of the multi-billion dollar deal.

Shell and ENI had previously maintained ignorance that Mr. Etete would benefit from the deal prior to the settlement agreement that was reached with Goodluck Jonathan’s government in 2011.

The agreement saw Shell and ENI assume ownership of the lucrative oil field after paying $1.1 billion to Malabu via a Nigerian government account. Another $200 million had earlier been paid by Shell.