ABUJA, Jan 26 (Reuters) - A Nigerian court has ordered thetemporary forfeiture of assets and the transfer of operations ofa long-disputed oilfield owned by Shell and Eni, among others, to the federal government, court papersreleased on Thursday showed.
The court orders will last until Nigeria's anti-corruptionagency concludes an investigation into how the current ownersacquired oil prospecting licence (OPL) 245, the papers said.
This is the latest of many inquiries, including by Dutch andItalian authorities, into the 2011 purchase of the OPL 245 blockwhich could hold up to 9.23 billion barrels of oil, according toindustry figures.
The Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria declinedto comment. Eni did not immediately respond to a request forcomment. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh; Additional reporting by LibbyGeorge in London; Writing by Paul Carsten; Editing by AlexanderSmith)
