The House of Representatives on Tuesday issued a 14-day ultimatum to three oil companies to remit over $5.5 million debt into the Federation’s coffers.
Representatives of the three major oil companies, Chorus Energy, Dubril Oil Company Limited, and Belema Oil, who appeared during the investigative hearing on the 2021 audit queries, admitted to owing $5,543,491.45 to Nigeria’s Federation Account.
Speaking on behalf of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Mr. Balarabe Haruna reeled out the outstanding debts as follows: Chorus Energy owes a total of $814,680.06 and N181,954,238.43, comprising $396,907.76 for crude oil by price and $417,772.13 for crude oil by production.
Dubri Oil owed $3,025,193.71, which includes $646,605.55 for crude oil by production and $2,378,588.15 for gas flare.
Eroton Exploration & Production owed $78,486,333.27, made up of $45,094,125.31 for crude oil by production, $33,392,207.96 for gas flare, and $916,027.00 for concession rentals.
Belema Oil owes $1,703,617.68, including $977,793.54 for crude oil by price, $511,870.14 for gas flare and $213,954.00 for concession rentals.
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In response, the Chief Financial Officer of Chorus Energy, Mr. Oluseyi Simon, explained that the company’s debt arose after an increase in the crude oil price rate from 0.5% to $3.5.
He noted that the company has consistently paid its liabilities and that it had already paid $5.3 million in 2024 alone.
Simon assured the committee that the remaining balance would be cleared before the end of the month.
On his part, acting Managing Director of Dubri Oil, Clement, who acknowledged the debt, explained that the company’s financial difficulties stemmed from a decline in crude oil production during the first quarter of 2024.
He emphasised that despite the company’s unrelenting efforts to mitigate the situation through workovers on its wells, the efforts were unsuccessful.
He, however, assured that the organisation’s recent plan to begin the drilling of new wells will enable it to settle the outstanding debts once production increases.
He further revealed that Dubri Oil had been in discussions with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and had agreed to a payment schedule, with an expected resolution by the third quarter of 2025.
Belema Oil also confirmed the debt, citing operational challenges as the cause of the indebtedness.
According to the company’s Managing Director, Ahmad Sambk, Belema Oil had been unable to meet its production targets since August 2022 due to issues with the evacuation pipeline system, which had experienced significant leakages, leading to the loss of nearly 5 million barrels of crude oil.
These challenges had resulted in a complete shutdown of operations, preventing the company from fulfilling its financial obligations.
Chairman of the investigation sub-committee, Hon. Isaq Akinlade, expressed anger over the failure of oil companies to meet their financial obligations and stressed the urgency of retrieving the owed funds.
“Paying off these outstanding debts is not just a matter of financial responsibility; it is a critical step toward improving governance in Nigeria,” Hon. Akinlade stated.
Members of the Committee also unanimously gave the oil companies a two-week ultimatum to settle their debts.
The committee also issued a warning to any oil companies that failed to respond to invitations for hearings, stressing that non-compliance would lead to severe repercussions.
In addition to the aforementioned companies, the committee also disclosed the indebtedness of other oil operators that failed to appear today, as follows:
“For Conoil Producing, the company owes $3,884,308.56 for crude oil by production and $708,600.06 for Gas flare and $475,785.40, bringing the total to $4,592,908.62.
“Continental Oil has a total debt of $57,053,842.22, which includes $44,519,936.05 for crude oil by production, $12,533,906.17 for gas flare and $250,650.00 for concession rentals.
“Enageed Resources owed a total of $15,001,089.91, consisting of $11,647,300.01 for crude oil by production, $3,353,789.90 for gas flare and $469,552.00 for concession rentals.
“Energia Limited owed a total of $19,260,982.13, made up of $6,675,524.25 for crude oil by price, $9,768,926.81 for crude oil by production, $10,208.89 for gas sales, $2,806,322.19 for Gas flare and $305,995.40 for concession rentals.”
and then