NNPCL Deducts N235.6bn for Northern Oil Exploration in Seven Months, Outpacing Niger Delta Funds

In a significant financial move, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) has allocated N235.6 billion to the Frontier Exploration Fund (FEF) in just the first seven months of 2025.

The deductions, made from Profit Sharing Contract proceeds, are mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) to finance oil and gas exploration in frontier basins, primarily located in the country’s northern regions.

The fund is designed to diversify the nation’s oil production away from the Niger Delta.

The NNPCL, under its new Group Chief Executive Officer, Bayo Ojulari, has stated that resuming drilling in the North is a top priority, with operations scheduled to restart at the Kolmani field on the border of Bauchi and Gombe states.

A monthly breakdown of the deductions shows a peak of N61.4 billion in April and a dramatic decline to N6.8 billion by July, culminating in the seven-month total.

This aggressive funding of frontier exploration has sparked controversy due to a stark imbalance with other allocations.

The figures reveal that the N235.6 billion allocated to the FEF in seven months is rapidly approaching the N328.2 billion allocated to the Host Communities Development Fund (HCDF) for the entire Niger Delta region over the past four years.

On a monthly average, funding for northern exploration (N33.7 billion) has outpaced funding for oil-producing host communities (N6.8 billion) by nearly five times.

This disparity has raised concerns among analysts, particularly from the Niger Delta, who argue it shows a policy tilt towards new exploration at the expense of addressing the historical environmental and social needs of existing host communities.

About The Author

Dele Fashomi

Dele Fashomi, seasoned journalist and communication teacher, is a holder of Master of Arts degree in Communication and Language Arts from the University of Ibadan in 1992/93.

Earlier, he had bagged a Bachelor degree from the same university in 1984, after which he proceeded to the Nigerian Institute of Journalism, Lagos, in 1990, for a postgraduate diploma in Journalism.

He had done many courses in communication, including the EU-BBC Editing Course in 2002.

Mr. Fashomi combines effectively the practice, research and teaching of communication. And to date, he has published two academic works in communication: Issues in Communication Technology and Policy (2010) and Economic and Social Issues in Advertising and PR (2013).

He had his first break in the Nigerian media in Concord Newspapers in 1990 and today, he has over two and half decades experience earned in several newspapers.

He has been part of many start-ups, such as The Republic (1987), The Comet (1999), The Anchor 2001 – 2002; Sun Newspapers (2003); Westerner newsmagazine (2005 – 2010) as Editor; National Life (2011) as Sunday Editor, and Newswatch Newspapers (2012- 2016) as Daily Editor.

Dele Fashomi is now the Publisher/Editor-in-Chief of Newstide247.com newspaper online, which he started in July 2015. He is also into biography writing, with many books in his trail, some of which he wrote alone and one he co- authored with his mentor, Mr Dare Babarinsa, entitled:  Olabiyi Durojaiye – DARE TO BE DiFFERENT. He also guided and collaborated with Pa Olatunji Odusanya in writing his autobiography – AGAINST ALL ODDS. There are many other books in the works under his pen.

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