The House of Representatives has secured a commitment from seven oil companies to settle a total of $37.4 million owed to the Federation Account by August 2025.
In a statement released on Sunday, House spokesman Akin Rotimi said the companies made this pledge amid an ongoing investigation by the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Representatives.
“This commitment comes after the Committee examined financial records from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which identified significant gaps in royalty payments and reconciliation processes across the sector,” Rotimi said.
He added that the pledged repayment is part of an outstanding ₦9 trillion liability highlighted by the Auditor General for the Federation in his 2021 report submitted to the National Assembly.
“These debts, some of which have accumulated over a four-year period, underscore long-standing revenue leakages within the oil and gas sector,” he noted.
Rotimi further stated that, beyond the seven companies, the Committee’s investigation has revealed that 45 oil and gas companies owe a total of $1.7 billion (₦2.5 trillion) in unpaid royalty payments as of December 31, 2024.
The seven companies that have acknowledged their debts and agreed to settle them by August 2025 include:
- Belema Oil
- Panocean Oil Nigeria Ltd
- Newcross Exploration & Production Ltd
- Dubri Oil Company Ltd
- Chorus Energy
- Amni International
- Network Exploration
Additionally, nine companies, with a combined outstanding balance of $429.2 million, have disputed the amounts owed and requested a reconciliation process with NUPRC to verify their actual liabilities. These companies are:
- Aradel/Niger Delta
- Chevron
- STAR DEEP
- Shore Line
- Seplat Producing Unlimited
- Esso Erha
- Esso Usan
- Eroton Exploration
- Seplat Energy
The Committee has instructed that the reconciliation process be completed within two weeks, after which companies must settle their confirmed debts without further delay.
Rotimi also mentioned that 28 companies, collectively owing $1.23 billion, have failed to respond to invitations or public notices from the Committee. These companies include:
- 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
- Continental Oil & Gas Company Ltd
- 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
- Midwestern Oil and Gas Limited
- 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
- Oriental Energy Resources Limited
“The Committee has granted these companies an additional one-week grace period to submit the necessary documentation regarding their statutory obligations and appear before the Committee.
“Failure to comply within this time frame will result in strict legislative and regulatory sanctions to enforce accountability and ensure compliance,” Rotimi said.
The House confirmed that only two companies have fully met their royalty obligations:
- Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC)
- Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production
