THE House of Representatives Adhoc committee probing over N6tillion revenue leakages in the oil and gas sector from January 2016 to January 2017 has demanded evidence of payment for products lifted by Shell Petroleum and Mobil Nigeria limited.
The panel made the demand following an interface with officials of both companies on Friday where they claimed that outstanding remittances regarding royalties, gas flaring penalties, and concession rental and signature bonus have been settled via reconciliatory exercises with the regulator, the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).
Responding to questions from lawmakers on Friday, Mr Olusegun Banwo, the Executive Director of Mobil Production Nigeria, told the panel that the company always interacts with the DPR before purchasing any exploratory equipment.
He also added that all royalties, concession rental and signature bonus have been fully paid between 2014 to 2917, debunking any impression that the company owes money to the federal government.
In also facing the probe panel on Friday, Mr. Dapo Otunla, Country Tax Manager for SHELL Petroleum in Nigeria, informed lawmakers his company shouldn’t be under any probe from the parliament, saying that if there was any form of discrepancies in figures presented, and then the reconciliation should be between his company and the DPR.
However, this did not go down well with the Committee Chairman, Hon. Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe (PDP, Cross River), who demanded that the companies put their houses in order and arm themselves with all payment receipts and furnish the panel with same before the commencement of the public hearing on Wednesday, November 15
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