Nigeria approves $10.3-billion Eni deepwater developments

ABUJA, April 24, 2026 – Nigeria’s government has approved Eni to proceed with the USD 7.3-billion Zabazaba deepwater project and the USD 3-billion Etan field development, Africa Energy Council reported on Thursday.

The Zabazaba and Etan fields are located in the offshore OPL 245 block in water depths of about 1,900 metres. In the block’s PML 103, Zabazaba is expected to yield 320 million barrels of oil and 11.1 bcm (391 bcf) of associated gas, and will be developed in two phases via a 150,000-bopd FPSO.

In PML 102, Etan is expected yield 151 million barrels of oil and 3.8 bcm (133 bcf) of associated gas, and will also be developed in two phases via linkages to the Zabazaba FPSO. The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has put forth a timeline that places first oil production and gas sales from the developments in 2029.

In March, Eni and the Nigerian government settled terms in an arbitration case related to the acquisition by Shell and Eni of OPL 245 from a company linked to former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete. The settlement led to the subdivision of OPL 245 into two production licences and two exploration licences: PML 102, PML 103, PPL 2011 and PPL 2012.

Photo courtesy of Eni

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