Dutch Prosecutor prepares to prosecute Shell for 2011 purchase of Nigerian oilfield

(Reuters) - Royal Dutch Shell Plc said on Friday it was informed by the Dutch Public Prosecutor's Office that they were preparing to prosecute the oil major for criminal charges related to its 2011 purchase of a Nigerian oilfield.

Italy's Eni SpA and Shell bought the OPL 245 offshore field for about $1.3 billion (980 million pounds) in a deal that spawned one of the industry's largest corruption scandals. It is alleged that about $1.1 billion of the total was siphoned to agents and middlemen.

(Reporting by Arathy S Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Bernard Orr)