By Christiana Ekpa
The House of Representatives Public Accounts Committee on Sunday said it has recovered N28.7 billion from two oil companies indebted to the country’s Federation account.
The spokesperson of the Green Chamber, Akin Rotimi, disclosed this in a statement on Sunday.
The recovery is a part of the total $1.7 trillion debt owed by 45 oil companies to Nigeria’s Federation account.
The committee said two companies, namely, Chorus Energy Limited, settled its outstanding liability with a payment of N1.2 billion on March 11, 2025, and Seplat Production Development Limited fully discharged its obligation by remitting N27.6 billion between March 10 and March 14, 2025.
Consequently, the PAC cleared Amalgamated Oil Company Nigeria Ltd, Seplat Energy, Shell Exploration, and Production and Shell Petroleum Development Company of all financial indebtedness to the Federation Account.
“The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has been furnished with evidence of these payments for final verification.
“Additionally, Shoreline Natural Resources Ltd. 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 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 commended Seplat Energy for its prompt compliance with its financial obligations.
“Furthermore, the committee reaffirmed its commitment to deploying all constitutionally sanctioned measures to recover outstanding debts from the remaining 38 oil companies under investigation” , the committee stated.
The development comes after the committee summoned the companies to an investigative enquiry based on findings from the 2021 Audit Report, which stated that 45 oil companies collectively owe $1.7 billion in outstanding liabilities to the Federation.
Earlier, Reps issued an ultimatum to the invited companies to appear.
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