2 Oil Companies Refund N28.7 To Govt

The Public Accounts Committee, PAC, of the House of Representatives has revealed that two oil companies indebted to the Federation Account have refunded about N28.7 billion to the government.

The committee is investigating the audit report of the Office of the Auditor General for the Federation for the 2021 financial year.

In a statement in Abuja by the House spokesperson, Akintunde Rotimi, Chorus Energy Limited settled its outstanding liability of $847,623 (N1.2 billion) on March 11, while Seplat Production Development Limited fully discharged its obligation by remitting $18.39 million (N27.6 billion) between March 10 and March 14, this year.

Rotimi says the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission NUPRC, has been furnished with evidence of payments for final verification.

“Shoreline Natural Resources Limited had made a $30 million payment towards its $100.28 million debt before the investigation commenced and has requested a structured repayment plan for the outstanding balance.”

During the House of Representatives Committee’s proceedings, a representative of the NUPRC, Balarabe Haruna, reported that following recent reconciliations, “Seplat Energy Producing Nigeria Unlimited (formerly Mobil Producing) now holds a credit balance of $211,911.09 for crude oil royalty, $33.01 million for gas flare penalties, and $163,046.40 for concession rentals, with no outstanding liabilities.

“The committee commends Seplat Energy for its prompt compliance with its financial obligations.”

The house Spokesperson reaffirmed its commitment to deploying all constitutionally approved measures to recover outstanding debts from the remaining 38 oil companies under investigation.

He says Amalgamated Oil Company Nigeria Limited, Seplat Energy, Shell Exploration and Production, as well as Shell Petroleum Development Company have fully settled their obligations and are no longer financially liable.

The statement also said the committee has successfully recovered ₦199.3 million out of an outstanding ₦6.8 billion excessive charges levied between March and October 2015 and unremitted Value Added Tax (VAT) on transactions processed via the Remita platform from 2015 to 2022.

Last year, following a motion sponsored by Jeremjah Umaru, the House ordered the committee to investigate revenue leakages and non-remittance of funds by Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) through Remita.

The statement quotes the Chairman of the House Public Accounts Committee, Bamidele Salam as reaffirming the committee’s resolve to pursue every avenue to recover public funds.

“These recoveries demonstrate the effectiveness of the oversight function of the National Assembly in ensuring accountability and transparency in the management of public funds. We will continue to engage with relevant institutions and deploy all necessary legislative tools to recover outstanding debts and prevent revenue leakages.

“Our objective is to ensure that every kobo due to the federation is accounted for and remitted accordingly.

“The House of Representatives, through the Public Accounts Committee, remains committed to upholding financial discipline, strengthening institutional accountability, and safeguarding public resources in the national interest.”

Oduyemi Odumade, Edited By Grace Namiji