Halliburton

In 2009, American multinational corporation Halliburton reached a $579 million settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over allegations that the company and its former subsidiary KBR paid approximately $180 million in bribes to Nigerian officials between 1995 and 2004. The bribes allegedly secured contracts for the Bonny Island liquefied natural gas plant in Rivers State, one of Nigeria's most significant energy infrastructure projects. The case involved high-level Nigerian government officials and represented one of the largest international corruption settlements at the time.

The Bonny Island LNG project was a massive joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, Shell, Total, and Eni, designed to monetize Nigeria's abundant natural gas reserves. During the 1990s and early 2000s, international oil and gas companies were competing intensely for lucrative contracts in Nigeria's expanding energy sector. The alleged bribery scheme involved payments made through intermediaries and shell companies to influence contract awards, reflecting broader patterns of corruption that had plagued Nigeria's oil and gas industry since the discovery of petroleum.