• ExxonMobil may invest $10b in Nigeria
• Akume, EFCC seek compliance with NEITI report
Despite significant reduction, the amount of crude oil stolen from Nigeria and unpaid taxes/royalties by International Oil Companies (IOCs), stand at about $7 billion.
Disclosing this yesterday, in Abuja, the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) said oil and gas companies in the country owed the Federal Government over $6.071 billion and N66.4 billion in taxes and royalties.
This comes as the Federal Government revealed that ExxonMobil is planning to invest about $10 billion in the country’s deep-water oil operation.The report revealed that over 7.68 million barrels of crude oil were stolen from Nigeria in one year. This translates to about $0.6 billion, despite the efforts to fight oil theft in the country.
The development, contained in the 2022/2023 NEITI Independent Oil and Gas Industry Report, showed that majority of the outstanding liabilities—$6.04 billion and N65.9 billion were unpaid royalties and gas flare penalties due to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).
In addition to royalties and penalties, the report highlighted unpaid petroleum profit taxes, company income taxes, withholding taxes and Value-Added Tax (VAT), totalling $21.926 million and N492.8 million, owed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) as of June 2024.
NEITI also disclosed that Nigeria imported 23.54 billion litres of Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) in 2022, a figure that declined to 20.28 billion litres in 2023 following the removal of fuel subsidies. The report also noted that the highest yearly PMS import volume of 23.54 billion litres was recorded in 2022, while the lowest, 16.88 billion litres, occurred in 2017.
In terms of production, the report revealed that Nigeria’s crude oil production dropped by 11 per cent in 2022 to 490.945 million barrels from 556.130 million barrels in 2021 .
However, in 2023, crude production rebounded to 537.571 million barrels, a 9.5 per cent increase from the previous year.On crude lifting, NEITI reported 482.074 million barrels lifted in 2022, a decline from 551.006 million in 2021.
By 2023, crude lifting rose to 534.159 million barrels, an increase of 58.08 million barrels. The report noted that oil theft and crude losses experienced a significant reduction in 2023, noting that 7.68 million barrels were either stolen or lost, marking a 79 per cent drop from the 36.69 million barrels recorded in 2022.
ExxonMobil’s investment decision was disclosed during a meeting between Vice President Kashim Shettima and the ExxonMobil executives on the sidelines of the ongoing 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
While 78 companies in the oil and gas industry and nine relevant government agencies that collect, keep custody or manage oil and gas revenues were covered by the NEITI process, Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), George Akume, said the Federal Government is committed to the principles of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) being implemented in the country’s oil and gas sector by NEITI.
Akume, who also chairs the NEITI board, acknowledged that information and data provided by NEITI’s independent reports consistently proved invaluable to the government.
He noted that the reports guided policy decisions, reforms and measures that foster accountability, particularly in the oil and gas sector, adding: “In a sector where opacity could easily lead to leakages, inefficiencies, and corruption, NEITI has become an indispensable partner in ensuring that Nigerians are fully aware of how their commonwealth is managed.”
Akume said the government’s commitment to this process extends beyond simple endorsement, adding that the government considers NEITI’s role as a beacon of transparency and accountability in the extractive industries and that the credibility of its reports serves as a foundation for formulating national policies, fighting corruption, revenue growth and ensuring equitable distribution of revenues.
The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, explained that the preparation of the report followed a meticulous and transparent process in line with global EITI standards.
“A rigorous, multi-stakeholder approach was adopted, involving extensive collaboration with government agencies, extractive companies, civil society and indigenous consultants. We ensured that all data was collected, validated, and reconciled transparently,” Orji stated.
The Chairman, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Olanipekun Olukoyede, who noted the job of the agency begins where that of NEITI stops, said that from NEITI’s past reports, EFCC recently recovered and remitted to the Federal Government over N1 billion. He assured that the recent reports released by NEITI would be taken over by the EFCC for thorough investigation of its findings and recommendations.
