The bold investment stride taken by the Nigerian Government towards unlocking 500 MMbbl reserves of Zabazaba and Etan Deepwater Fields has increased momentum following the stakeholders’ meeting between GCEO NNPC Limited and NAE MD Group CEO of NNPC Limited, Engr. Bashir Bayo Ojulari and the Vice Chairman/Managing Director of Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE), Mr. Maurizio Pinna, in Abuja recently.
The discussions, which centred on deepwater development, dwelled mainly on the work underway on the Zabazaba and Etan Deepwater acreage held by the two companies as well as expected production. NAE operates the licences converted from OPL 245 together with NNPC Limited and SNEPCo.
The latest meeting held by the partners was a sequel to a broader central meeting, following the previous agreement signed by the Federal Government of Nigeria and Eni on the conversion of Oil Prospecting Licence 245 (OPL 245). The conversion has strengthened Eni’s cooperation with Nigeria and paved the way for the development of hydrocarbon resources in Nigeria’s deep offshore.
The agreement signed included the mutually satisfactory settlement of all claims related to OPL 245 and the discontinuation of the international arbitration proceeding at the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID); as a consequence,
It allowed the conversion of the existing license into two development licences, Petroleum Mining Leases (PML) 102 and 103, and two exploration licences, Petroleum Prospecting Leases (PPL) 2011 and 2012, to Nigerian Agip Exploration Limited (NAE) as operator, alongside its partners Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company Limited (SNEPCO).
The signature of the Project Agreements has enabled the development of the Zabazaba and Etan fields, where Eni will deploy its know-how in fast-track development, in a significant step toward advancing Nigeria’s deepwater resources and unlocking their considerable value.
The Etan-Zabazaba development leverages approximately 500 MMbbl of reserves and is premised on a 150 kbopd-capacity FPSO processing facility, with gas (200 MMSCFD at peak) exported through Nigeria LNG. The exploration licenses PPL 2011 and PPL 2012 have high potential and are suitable for fast-tracked development in synergy with future Zabazaba-Etan facilities.
President Tinubu and Mr Descalzi, in their previous meeting, discussed Eni’s significant investment portfolio — including the Abo and Bonga fields and Nigeria LNG — as well as potential new developments designed to expand the country’s offshore production capacity. Within this framework, and in line with its long-term strategy in the country, Eni has recently expanded its interests in deep-water developments by acquiring an additional stake in OML 118, now holding 15%.
