Nigeria: Milan court to rule on OPL 245 trial

Royal Dutch Shell, Eni, and several senior Eni executives including chief executive Claudio Descalzi will face a preliminary court hearing in Italy on 20 April. The Milan prosecutor is seeking that they be tried for alleged international corruption offences over the 2011 purchase of Nigerian OPL 245. The companies paid $1.3bn to the Nigerian government, which then transferred $1.1bn to Malabu Oil & Gas, owned by former oil minister Dan Etete, to which he granted rights to the block in 1998.