Shell, Eni buy huge Nigeria offshore oil block-Shell

ABUJA Dec 7 (Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell and Eni have bought the prospective Nigerian deep offshore oil block OPL 245, Shell said on Wednesday, ending a decade of legal disputes over the huge asset.

A spokesman for the Anglo-Dutch major said it would own 50 percent of the block with Eni owning the other half and operating output. He would not confirm how much was paid or the quantity of reserves but industry experts have said OPL 245 was worth over $1 billion and holds around 9 billion barrels of oil. (Reporting by Joe Brock; editing by Keiron Henderson)