Three oil companies owe FG $5.5 million – NUPRC

The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has revealed that three oil companies owe the Federal Government $5.5 million in outstanding payments.

The three oil companies are Chorus Energy, Dubril Oil Company Limited, and Belema Oil.

This was disclosed by the representative of NUPRC, Balarabe Haruna, during the ongoing investigation by the House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee, prompted by the Auditor General’s report.

The committee heard detailed testimonies from the NUPRC, presented by Haruna, which outlined the outstanding debts of the companies.

According to NUPRC, the debts are as follows: Chorus Energy owes a total of $814,680.06 and N181,954,238.43, comprising $396,907.76 for crude oil by price and $417,772.13 for crude oil by production.

Dubril Oil owes $3,025,193.71, which includes $646,605.55 for crude oil by production and $2,378,588.15 for gas flares.

Eroton Exploration & Production owes $78,486,333.27, made up of $45,094,125.31 for crude oil by production, $33,392,207.96 for gas flare, and $916,027.00 for concession rentals.

Belema Oil owes $1,703,617.68, including $977,793.54 for crude oil by price, $511,870.14 for gas flare, and $213,954.00 for concession rentals.

In response, the Chief Financial Officer of Chorus Energy, Oluseyi Simon, explained that the company’s debt arose after an increase in the crude oil price rate from 0.5% to $3.5.

He noted that the company has consistently paid its liabilities and that it has already paid $5.3 million in 2024 alone.

Simon assured the committee that the remaining balance would be cleared before the end of the month.

Meanwhile, the Acting Managing Director of Dubril Oil, Clement, acknowledged the debt and explained that the company’s financial difficulties stemmed from a decline in production during the first quarter of 2024.

He stressed that the company had been trying to mitigate the situation through workovers on its wells, but the efforts were unsuccessful.

However, Clement assured the committee that Dubril Oil planned to begin drilling new wells and, once production increased, would settle the outstanding debt.

He further revealed that Dubril Oil had been in discussions with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and had agreed to a payment schedule, with an expected resolution by the third quarter of 2025.

Belema Oil also confirmed the debt, citing operational challenges as the cause of the indebtedness.

According to the company’s Managing Director, Ahmad Sambk, Belema Oil had been unable to meet its production targets since August 2022 due to issues with the evacuation pipeline system, which had experienced significant leakages, leading to the loss of nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil.

These challenges had resulted in a complete shutdown of operations, preventing the company from fulfilling its financial obligations, he said.

The chairman of the investigation sub-committee, Hon. Akinlade Isaq, expressed anger over the failure of oil companies to meet their financial obligations and stressed the urgency of retrieving the owed funds.

“Paying off these outstanding debts is not just a matter of financial responsibility; it is a critical step toward improving governance in Nigeria,” Isaq stated.

The committee then unanimously gave the oil companies a strict two-week ultimatum to settle their debts.

The committee also issued a warning to any oil companies that failed to respond to invitations for hearings, stressing that non-compliance would lead to severe repercussions.

In addition to the aforementioned companies, the committee also disclosed the indebtedness of other oil operators that failed to appear today, as follows:

For Conoil Producing, the company owes $3,884,308.56 for crude oil by production, $708,600.06 for gas flare, and $475,785.40, bringing the total to $4,592,908.62.

Continental Oil has a total debt of $57,053,842.22, which includes $44,519,936.05 for crude oil by production, $12,533,906.17 for gas flare, and $250,650.00 for concession rentals.

Enageed Resources owes a total of $15,001,089.91, consisting of $11,647,300.01 for crude oil by production, $3,353,789.90 for gas flare, and $469,552.00 for concession rentals.

Energia Limited owes a total of $19,260,982.13, made up of $6,675,524.25 for crude oil by price, $9,768,926.81 for crude oil by production, $10,208.89 for gas sales, $2,806,322.19 for gas flare, and $305,995.40 for concession rentals.