AGF fires back at critics, Atiku, defends landmark OPL 245 settlement

By Kazeem Ugbodaga

The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi (SAN), has defended the Federal Government’s resolution of the long-standing OPL 245 oil block dispute, describing criticisms of the move as misleading and driven by self-interest.

Fagbemi, in a statement on Wednesday, reacted to media reports attributed to the Atiku Abubakar Media Office, which he said contained misrepresentations regarding the settlement of disputes surrounding the oil block.

He stated that attempts to downplay the resolution ignored what he described as “a landmark achievement of the current administration in brokering the settlement of a protracted dispute spanning nearly three decades.”

Providing background, the AGF recalled that OPL 245 was originally awarded to Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd in April 1998, revoked in July 2001, and later allocated to Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited in May 2002, developments that triggered extensive litigation and public hearings.

He explained that the disputes were eventually addressed through the 2011 Resolution Agreement involving the Federal Government, Malabu, Shell Nigeria Ultra-Deep Limited, now succeeded by Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCo) and Nigerian Agip Exploration/Eni entities.

According to him, “Malabu relinquished all claims and interests in OPL 245 for valuable consideration,” while the Federal Government reallocated the block to SNEPCo and Nigerian Agip Exploration as joint licence holders, with a requirement to convert it into an Oil Mining Lease (OML).

Fagbemi noted that subsequent transactions arising from the agreement underwent judicial scrutiny in multiple jurisdictions, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Italy, adding that the proceedings “did not establish any wrongdoing against Eni, SNEPCo, or the transaction as a whole.”

He further disclosed that delays in converting the block into an OML led to arbitration proceedings at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), where Nigeria faced potential liabilities exceeding $2 billion.

“The arbitration was not concerned with questions of ownership of Malabu or internal disputes within the company,” he said, adding that it focused strictly on whether Nigeria breached its treaty obligations to foreign investors.

The AGF also stressed that individuals currently laying claim to interests in Malabu did not participate in the arbitration and had no legal basis to intervene.

Highlighting the economic importance of the asset, Fagbemi described OPL 245 as one of Nigeria’s most commercially promising offshore oil blocks, located about 150 kilometres from the coastline, but largely undeveloped due to prolonged disputes.

He said the resolution was aimed at “resolving these long-standing issues, avoiding significant financial exposure, and creating the conditions necessary for the asset to be fully developed and brought into production.”

According to him, the oil block is projected to contribute about 150,000 barrels per day to Nigeria’s production capacity and is designed around a large-scale floating production system with gas export components linked to Nigeria LNG.

Fagbemi added that the development would deliver economic and social benefits, including increased government revenue, improved energy security and renewed investor confidence.

He also referenced a recent Court of Appeal decision in Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited v. Malabu Oil & Gas Ltd (2025), which dismissed Malabu’s challenge to the allocation of the oil block, ruling that the suit was statute-barred and constituted an abuse of court process.

On the criticisms trailing the resolution, the AGF said: “The persistence of these criticisms strongly suggests that they are driven not by patriotism or objective reasoning, but by undisclosed and self-serving interests.”

He added that such narratives were “an attempt to frustrate a lawful and strategic resolution that stands to unlock immense value for the Nigerian people,” urging Nigerians to view them with caution.

“The national interest must not be sacrificed on the altar of hidden agenda,” he said.