Reps give two weeks to marginal field operators to remit $250m to FG ...Issue warrant of arrest to seven oil chiefs

The House of Representatives Committee on Oil and Gas has given two weeks to marginal field operator companies to remit the sum of $250 million to the Federal Government.

Besides, the committee who rounded up its investigation into allegation of leakages in the nation’s oil and gas industry has also issued warrant of arrest on seven Marginal Oil Field companies’ chief executive officers for failure to appear before it in Lagos on Thursday.

The companies whose warrant of arrest were against their chief executive officers are Naconde oil and gas, Watersmith, Express Petroleum, Aiteo, Dubril Oil, Atlas Energy and Oriental while Oando sent a letter of apology.

The amount owed by each of the company in terms of non-remittance of royalties to government include ND Midwestern $31 million, Eroton Exploration and Production, $3.3 million, Frontier Oil and Gas $5 million, Britania U $5.2 million, Seplat $2.5 million and N194 million, Pan Ocean Oil $44 million, Shoreline Natural Resources $11 million.

While explaining the reasons for his company’s indebtedness to government, Chairman of ND MidWestern, Dr. Lai Fatona said throughout the period when Forcados pipeline was shut down, all the company’s production went into storage in Warri and ended up been used by the Warri refinery and petrochemical company.

“That crude has not been paid for till date. So, I want the committee to understand that if NNPC takes a crude belonging to the joint venture into the Warri refinery and produces gas and goes into NGC, NDPH, generation companies and currently being owed over N39 billion, I wonder where we would get the money to pay. It’s not a deliberate attempt of not wanting to pay royalties but government has failed to pay us”.

Also, Managing Director, Frontier Oil and gas whose company is owing $5 million in form of royalty lamented government’s failure to remit N21 billion to his company.

“I have gas invoices that have not been paid for, for over two years. The power companies are simply hopeless. I have made up my mind never to contract with any government power plants because they are destroying businesses in Nigeria. This is the peculiarity with gas business in Nigeria. We are currently generating about 40 to 50 per cent of the gas Nigerians are enjoying today. Unfortunately, we have not been paid”, he said.