• Summon CEOs of 19 oil, gas firms

Over $9 billion gas flaring fines imposed by the Federal Government on erring local and foreign companies operating in the oil and gas sector will be recovered, the House of Representatives vowed, yesterday.
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The lawmakers pledged to do all within their powers to recover unpaid levies and ensure compliance with extant legislations and regulations.

Chairman, ad hoc committee investigating gas flaring, Ahmed Munir, gave the assurance in Abuja, during a post-investigative hearing, which was attended by stakeholders drawn from Federal Ministry of Environment, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), and National Oil Spill Detection and Response Agency (NOSDRA), among others.

The committee also resolved to summon chief executive officers (CEOs) of 19 oil and gas companies to appear before it today.

Worried by alleged impunity perpetrated by the operators, Munir said: “I can assure you that we will not take this lying down. There are two ways to go about it. We have the issues of penalties that are not paid, amounting to about $9 billion or thereabout. We know how to recover it.

“Secondly, those that are still polluting, how do you ensure you get it down to zero, and what are the penalties that are going to be out in place?

“Thirdly, the big difference between then and now is, we now have a PIA in place. So, how do you implement it? Where we have a loophole…that’s why we are here, to hear from the people concerned. Is there any amendment that will be required?

“If you are going to bid for oil bloc in Nigeria, and you see that, of the criteria, one is: your gas master plan. How do you key into that? You can’t win a bid without ensuring you’ll be able to utilise that gas or evacuate the gas responsibly.”

In his address, RMAFC chairman, Gas Monitoring Committee, Mr. Patrick Mgbebu, disclosed that the gas flare penalty payment regime from 2013-2018 (2018 January-June) was $0.30, while from 2018 (July-December) to 2023, it was pegged at $2.00.

He said penalties payable amounted to $3 billion and the value of gas would have been $12 billion, if the gas was sold and not flared.

In his remarks, Director at Federal Ministry of Environment, Mr. Olubunmi Olusanya, underscored the need to give legislative backing to the use of oil trackers as part of measures to end gas flaring in the country.

While delivering his keynote address, the Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, who was represented by Chief Whip, Usman Kumo, lamented that gas flaring and venting have been a significant environmental, economic, health and social concern in the country for many years.

The CEOs of the firms summoned are: Total/Mobil JV Domestic Wing; Total/Oando JV; Total Energies; African Petroleum (AP) Plc. now Ardova PLC; Azman Oil & Gas Limited; Matrix Oil & Gas; A. M Shafa Ltd; Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC); National Council on Climate Change (NCCC); Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC); Yinka Folawiyo Petroleum Company (Aje Oilfield Offshore); Sterling Oil Exploration & Energy (SEEPCO); Belemaoil Production Limited; Walter Smith Petroman Oil Limited; Green Energy International Limited Millennium Oil and Gas Company Limited; Folawiyo Energy; Eroton Exploration and Production Nigeria Limited; and Niger Delta Petroleum Resources Ltd.
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