Reps recover $19.2m owed to FG by two oil firms

The house of representatives, through its public accounts committee (PAC), has recovered $19.2million or approximately N28.8 billion from two oil companies indebted to the federation government.

The spokesperson of the house, Mr. Akin Rotimi in a statement on Sunday described the recovery as a major breakthrough in the ongoing efforts to recover outstanding revenues accruing to the federation account.

Rotimi said the committee’s investigation, which is based on findings from the 2021 audit report, focuses on 45 oil companies collectively owing $1.7 billion in outstanding liabilities to the federation.

Citing the report, he said Chorus Energy Limited settled its outstanding liability with a payment of $847,623 (N1.2 billion) on March 11, 2025, while Seplat Production Development Limited fully discharged its obligation by remitting $18.39 million (N27.6 billion) between March 10 and March 14, 2025.

“The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been furnished with evidence of these payments for final verification,” Rotimi said.

“Additionally, Shoreline Natural Resources Ltd. had made a $30 million payment towards its $100.28 million debt before the investigation commenced and has requested a structured repayment plan for the outstanding balance.”

The lawmaker said during the committee’s proceedings, Balarabe Haruna, a representative of the NUPRC, reported that following recent reconciliations, Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited (formerly Mobil Producing) now holds a credit balance of $211,911.09 for crude oil royalty, $33.01 million for gas flare penalties, and $163,046.4 for concession rentals, with no outstanding liabilities.

He said the committee commended Seplat Energy for its prompt compliance with its financial obligations.

“Furthermore, the Committee reaffirmed its commitment to deploying all constitutionally sanctioned measures to recover outstanding debts from the remaining 38 oil companies under investigation,” he added.

Rotimi said the report said four companies have fully settled their obligations and are no longer financially liable.

The companies include Amalgamated Oil Company Nigeria Ltd, Seplat Energy, Shell Exploration and Production, and Shell Petroleum Development Company.

In a separate development, Rotimi said the house committee on public accounts successfully recovered N199.3 million out of an outstanding N6.8 billion, comprising excessive charges levied between March and October 2015 and unremitted value-added tax (VAT) on transactions processed through the Remita platform from 2015 to 2022.

He said the house of representatives had, in 2024, mandated the committee to investigate revenue leakages and non-remittance of funds by ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) through Remita.

According to the lawmaker, the directive followed a motion sponsored by Jeremiah Umaru, a member of the house, which was subsequently referred to the committee.