Reps threaten to issue warrant of arrest on CEOs of 10 oil firms for $250mn unremitted fund

The House of Representatives Committee on Oil and Gas has threatened to issue warrant of arrest on the Managing Directors of Aiteo Energy, Neconde Energy, Frontier Energy and seven indigenous oil companies if they fail to appear before it to account for    unremitted $250million to the purse of the Federal government.

Chairman of the committee, Jerigbe Agom, who issued the warning at the committee’s sitting on the unremitted funds into the purse of the government, berated the companies for not showing the eagerness to remit the fund.

He also ordered the Managing Director of the Nigerian Petroleum Development Company (NPDC)  to appear before the committee in Abuja Tuesday next week to  explain why OML 119 field is producing  5000 barrels despite its capacity to deliver beyond that.

He also said the subsidiary arm of the NNPC failed to remit the $10million accrued debt in line with the agreement it reached with the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

He added that the boss of the  company had on  many occasions shunned the committee’s invitations to explain the infraction.

He further took a swipe at the Group Managing Director of Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC),Maikantu Baru,for treating his committee’s sittings with levity.

He wondered why the GMD whose efforts should be instrumental to government drive to block revenue leakage in the oil and gas sector turned down his committee’s sitting for no reason.

He also spoke on ExxonMobil Nigeria’s Gas-To-Liquid project, saying that same was illegal because it has no licence from the Department of Petroleum Resources (DPR).

He added that the committee has observed the infraction and would not allow the illegality to linger without addressing the situation.

But the Managing Director of ExxonMobil told the panel that the company approached the DPR several times on the  Gas-To-Liquid project but was rebuffed.

He said his company would proceed   to arbitration panel for the resolution of the issue.

Deputy Director, Planning, DPR, Folashade Odunuga, said International Oil Companies((IOCs) have shown deep interest to pay their debts to the government’s coffers, but was constrained by fiscal price disparity.

She also said that though the NPDC promised to remit $10million to narrow its debt, but it failed to  fulfil its pledge adding that her agency would  play its watchdog roles very well in the industry as well as make rigorous moves to block revenue leakages from the nation’s oil and gas sector.

The committee in the meantime gave the IOCS two weeks to tidy their grey arrears in the remittance of fund to the federal government.