THE House of Representatives has secured a commitment from seven oil companies to pay a total of $37.4 million owed to the Federation Account before August 2025.
Reps spokesman Akin Rotimi disclosed this in a statement today, noting that the companies made the pledge during an ongoing investigation by the Public Accounts Committee.
“This commitment follows the Committee’s scrutiny of financial records from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), which flagged significant lapses in royalty payments and reconciliation processes across the sector,” Rotimi stated.
He explained that the pledged repayments are part of a ₦9 trillion outstanding liability flagged by the Auditor General for the Federation in the 2021 report submitted to the National Assembly.
Some of the debts have accumulated over four years, exposing revenue leakages in the oil and gas sector.
Beyond these seven companies, the committee’s investigation uncovered an additional $1.7 billion (₦2.5 trillion) owed by 45 oil and gas firms in unpaid royalties as of December 31, 2024.
The seven companies that have acknowledged their debts and agreed to settle them before August 2025 are:
Belema Oil, Panocean Oil Nigeria Ltd, Newcross Exploration & Production Ltd, Dubri Oil Company Ltd, Chorus Energy, Amni International and Network Exploration.
Meanwhile, nine other companies, with a combined outstanding balance of $429.2 million, have disputed the figures and requested a reconciliation process with NUPRC. They include:
Aradel/Niger Delta, Chevron, STAR DEEP, Shore Line, Seplat Producing Unlimited, Esso Erha, Esso Usan, Eroton Exploration and Seplat Energy.
The committee has directed that the reconciliation process be completed within two weeks, after which companies must settle their confirmed debts immediately.
Rotimi further revealed that 28 oil companies, collectively owing $1.23 billion, have ignored invitations from the committee and failed to respond to public notices.
These companies have been given a final one-week deadline to submit all relevant documents and appear before the committee. Failure to comply, he warned, will result in legislative and regulatory sanctions. Among the defaulting companies are: Addax Petroleum Exploration Nigeria Ltd, AITEO Group, Total E&P Nigeria (OML 100, 102, 52 & 99), Oando Oil Ltd (OML 60, 61 & 62), Nigeria Agip Exploration Ltd (NAE), Waltersmith Petroman Limited, Conoil Plc, Heirs Holding, Platform Petroleum Limited, and Oriental Energy Resources Limited.
According to the House committee, only two companies—Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) and Shell Nigeria Exploration & Production—have fully met their royalty obligations.
The committee reaffirmed its commitment to enforcing accountability in the oil and gas sector, ensuring compliance with statutory payments, and closing revenue loopholes affecting the Federation Account.