Nigeria’s Special Adviser to the President on Energy, Olu Verheijen, has held a strategic meeting with senior executives of Nigerian Agip Exploration (NAE) as efforts intensify to advance the long-delayed development of the OPL 245 offshore oil block.
Verheijen disclosed that she received the Managing Director and Vice-Chairman of NAE, Fabrizio Bolondi, alongside members of his team, including Richard Onanzi and Luca Bai, for discussions on the project’s progress.
According to her, the delegation expressed appreciation to Bola Ahmed Tinubu for resolving the protracted issues surrounding OPL 245, which had stalled its development for decades.
The resolution, she noted, has now cleared the path for the project to move towards a Final Investment Decision (FID), a critical milestone that will determine the commencement of full-scale development.
Verheijen described the development as a major step forward for Nigeria’s oil and gas sector, expressing optimism about the timely execution of upcoming project phases.
She added that stakeholders are now focused on meeting key milestones and ensuring a successful transition to the investment stage, which is expected to unlock significant economic benefits for the country.
The OPL 245 block, one of Nigeria’s most valuable offshore assets, has been at the centre of legal and regulatory disputes for years, delaying its contribution to national oil output. Its progress toward FID is widely seen as a boost to investor confidence and the broader energy sector.
