Unpaid royalty: 45 Oil & gas companies owe FG N2.5trn, says report
A total of 45 Oil & Gas companies are owing the Federal Government N2.5 trillion or $1.7 billion unpaid royalty payments as of December 31, 2024.
The firms were indicted in the 2021 report of the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation (AG-F) as failing to pay royalties to the government, House spokesman Akintunde Rotimi said in a statement in Abuja on Sunday.
“This commitment follows the Committee’s scrutiny of financial records from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which flagged significant lapses in royalty payments and reconciliation processes across the sector.
“The pledged repayment forms part of a N9 trillion outstanding liability queried by the Auditor General for the Federation in the 2021 audit report submitted to the National Assembly. The debts, some of which have accrued over four years, highlight longstanding revenue leakages in the oil and gas sector.
“Beyond these seven companies, the Committee’s investigation has uncovered $1.7 billion (N2.5 trillion) owed by 45 oil and gas companies in unpaid royalty payments as of December 31, 2024,” the report disclosed.
The report also disclosed that seven of the 23 oil companies indicted in the AG-F report as owing several millions of dollars to the Federation Account have agreed to refund about $37.4 million by August 2025.
Rotimi said the House Committee on Public Account investigating the audit report got the commitment from the companies. But some others are contesting the amount listed against them.
According to the statement, only two of the companies indicted by the report – Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production- have fully met their royalty obligations.
The statement listed that erring firms that shunned the House Committee invitation to defend allegations against them are: Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd, AITEO Group, Total E&P Nigeria (OML 100, 102, 52 & 99), Conoil Plc, Oando and Continental Oil & Gas Company Ltd.
The statement reads: “Consequent upon the ongoing investigation by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives, seven major operators in Nigeria’s oil and gas industry have undertaken to remit a total of $37,435,094.52 (approximately N58 billion) to the Federation Account before August.
The statement said that Belema Oil, Panocean Oil Nigeria Ltd, Newcross Exploration & Production Ltd, Dubri Oil Company Ltd, Chorus Energy, Amni International and Network Exploration have acknowledged their outstanding debts and agreed to settle them before August.
It said further that nine companies, with a combined outstanding debt balance of $429.2 million, have contested the figures and requested a reconciliation process with NUPRC to verify their actual liabilities.
The nine companies according to the statement are: Aradel/Niger Delta, Chevron, STAR DEEP, Shore Line, Seplat Producing Unlimited, Esso Erha, Esso Usan, Eroton Exploration and Seplat Energy.
It said that the committee has directed that the reconciliation process be concluded within two weeks, after which companies must settle their confirmed debts without further delay.
The statement also said that 28 companies with a collective debt portfolio of $1.2 billion have failed to honour invitations by the Committee or respond to public notices.
The companies are Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd, AITEO Group, All Grace Energy, Amalgamated Oil Company Nigeria Limited, Total E&P Nigeria (OML 100, 102, 52 & 99), Bilton Energy Limited, Enageed Resources Limited, Waltersmith Petroman Limited, Conoil Plc and Continental Oil & Gas Company Ltd.
Others are Energia Limited, First E&P Ltd, Frontier Oil Limited, General Hydrocarbons Limited, Green Energy International Ltd, Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd (NAE), Neconde Energy Limited, Nigeria Petroleum Development Company (NPDC) – OML 60, 61 & 63,Lekoil Oil and Gas Investments Limited and Midwestern Oil and Gas Limited.
The others are: Millennium Oil and Gas Company Limited, Oando Oil Ltd (OML 60, 61 & 62), Heirs Holding, Pillar Oil Limited, Platform Petroleum Limited, Universal Energy Limited/Sinpec, Sahara Field Production Limited and Oriental Energy Resources Limited.
The statement added that the Committee has given the affected companies a further grace period of one week to submit all relevant documentation regarding their statutory obligations and appear before the committee, adding that failure to comply within this timeframe will result in firm legislative and regulatory sanctions to enforce accountability and ensure compliance.
The statement reads: “The House Committee on Public Accounts remains steadfast in ensuring that all oil and gas companies operating in Nigeria adhere to statutory payment obligations in line with the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA).
“The Committee will continue to intensify oversight to recover outstanding revenues and plug revenue leakages in the industry.
“The House of Representatives reiterates that companies benefiting from Nigeria’s natural resources must comply with financial obligations to support national development. The necessary legislative measures will be taken to enforce compliance and safeguard public revenue.”
