198 oil, gas, mining companies submit records to NEITI for audit

A total of 198 extractive companies and government agencies have submitted volumes of information and data for the ongoing nationwide reconciliation and validation of revenues in the oil, gas, and mining industries by the Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, announced this in Abuja while addressing a meeting of leaders from civil society organisations involved in the extractive sector, a statement by NEITI said on Tuesday.

Out of the 198 companies, Dr. Orji explained, 63 are in the oil and gas industry, meeting the materiality threshold of a minimum royalty payment of five million dollars, while 135 companies, which met the materiality threshold of six million naira, are from the solid minerals industry.

Dr. Orji explained that the level of participation of extractive companies in the ongoing industry audit is higher than in the last exercise conducted in 2021, where 190 oil, gas, and mining companies were covered. This included 121 solid mineral companies and 69 oil and gas companies that met the materiality threshold of five million dollars and three million naira in royalty payments, respectively, for reconciliation in the oil, gas, and mining sectors.

• Plans underway to insure public buildings – Minister
• Presidency committed to removing Nigeria from FATF grey list – Gbajabiamila

NEITI is tracking revenues earned between 2022 and last year, the quantity of oil, gas, and mining produced, consumed, or imported or exported, the revenues earned and remitted to appropriate government coffers, and the relevant government agencies that collected or expended such revenues.

NEITI is also tracking how the processes undertaken during these transactions measured up to the standards of transparency and accountability in line with the global Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI), of which Nigeria is a signatory and a founding member.

The executive secretary announced that NEITI has opened up engagements with Dangote Refineries and Petrochemicals, the biggest private sector investment in the downstream sector.

“NEITI’s first meeting with the company centered on the need for compliance with EITI Standards and NEITI mandates and the opportunities for Dangote Refineries to join the EITI as a supporting company.”