198 oil, mining firms, govt. agencies have opened books for industry audits – NEITI

The Nigerian Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) has disclosed that its nationwide reconciliation and validation of revenues in the oil, gas, and mining sectors will cover 198 extractive companies and government agencies.

According to the agency, out of the 198 companies, 63 are in the oil and gas industry, meeting the materiality threshold of a minimum royalty payment of five million dollars, $5 million, while 135 companies that met the materiality threshold of N6 million are from the solid minerals industry.

The Executive Secretary of NEITI, Dr. Orji Ogbonnaya Orji, announced this in Abuja while addressing a meeting of leaders from civil society organizations involved in the extractive sector.

He stated that the ongoing NEITI industry reports cover eight relevant agencies for the solid minerals sector, while 14 government agencies either receive, retain, or manage oil, gas, and mining revenues.

NEITI noted that the agencies are obliged to disclose all payments received and the expenditures incurred during the period under review.

Orji clarified that more extractive companies are participating in the current industry audit than in the previous exercise, which covered 190 oil, gas, and mining companies in 2021.

”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.

“The ongoing 2022/2023 Oil, Gas, and Solid Minerals Industry Reports have reached an advanced stage, in fact, the final stage,” he said.

He added that the data reconciliation and validation meetings for the oil and gas extractive companies and relevant government agencies were held and concluded in Lagos last week.

”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 are 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.”