A recent audit by the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed that oil companies owe the Nigerian Government a total of $6.175 billion in unpaid royalties and taxes.
The report, presented in Abuja on Friday, details that of this amount, $6.071 billion and ₦66.4 billion are owed in royalties and gas flare penalties to the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) as of August 31, 2024.
Additionally, outstanding petroleum profit taxes, company income taxes, withholding taxes, and VAT owed to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) amount to $21.926 million and ₦492.8 million as of June 2024.
The NEITI report also highlighted a 9% decline in industry revenue for 2023, with total revenue recorded at $16.467 billion, down from $18.106 billion in 2022. Furthermore, the audit revealed a loss of 7.68 million barrels of crude oil in 2023 due to theft and measurement errors, marking a significant decrease of 79% from the previous year’s loss of 36.69 million barrels.
In terms of production, 153.44 million barrels of crude oil were deferred in 2023, with companies such as SPDC (39.13 million barrels), TEPNG (6.07 million barrels), and TUPNI (3.5 million barrels) most impacted. The government spent ₦3.01 trillion on petrol subsidies in 2023, a decrease from ₦4.71 trillion in 2022.
The report also indicated that 23.54 billion liters of PMS (premium motor spirit) were imported in 2022, while this figure dropped to 20.28 billion liters in 2023, reflecting a 14% reduction following subsidy removal. A detailed 10-year trend analysis (2014-2023) noted that 2022 saw the highest annual PMS importation, while 2017 recorded the lowest.
The Secretary to the Government of the Federation George Akume, emphasized the government’s commitment to NEITI’s independence and effectiveness in fulfilling its mandate.
Meanwhile, EFCC Chairman Olanipekun Olukayode pledged to leverage the report to recover outstanding revenues from the companies, noting that previous NEITI reports have facilitated the recovery of over ₦1 billion for the Nigerian Government.
