We don't owe oil traders $6.8bn, NNPCL refutes media report

The Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has dismissed as untrue a media report alleging that the company is indebted to international oil traders to the tune of $6.8 billion.

The company also denied that it has not remitted revenues to the Federation Account since January, among other allegations.

A statement by the Chief Corporate Communications Officer, NNPC, Olufemi Soneye, stated that although “In the oil trading business, transactions are carried out on credit, and so normal to owe at one point or the other the company through its subsidiary, NNPC Trading, has many open trade credit lines from several traders.”

The statement stated that the company is paying its obligations of related invoices on a first-in-first-out (FIFO) basis.

On the remittance to the federation account, Soneye insisted that NNPC Ltd. and all its subsidiaries remit their taxes to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) regularly.

According to him, “This is in addition to payments of CIT to road contractors under the Road Investment Tax Credit Scheme. In all, NNPC Ltd. is the largest contributor to the tax revenue shared every month at the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).”

On quality control of products, Soneye insisted that NNPCL has no role whatsoever as it is not a regulator.

He said the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) is the relevant regulatory agency in charge of such issues.

Meanwhile, the NNPCL said the ongoing strain on fuel supply in some parts of Lagos and the FCT is as a result of distribution challenges, which would fissle out in due course.