Michael Eboh

Dublin, Ireland — Nigeria earned N269.3 billion in fines for gas flaring from oil and gas firms functioning within the nation during a single year, spanning from January to December 2025, as per the most recent figures published by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC).

The NUPRC, in its revised report submitted to the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), mentioned that the sum obtained from a non-compliant oil and gas company as fines in 2025 was 86.24 per cent more than the N144.6 billion in fines imposed on oil companies during the same one-year period in 2024.

Furthermore, the most recent update indicated that the overall sum gathered from the companies at the conclusion of the 12-month period in 2025 was 6.92 per cent less than the N289.306 billion reported for the eleven-month period from January to November 2025, primarily because of several modifications.

It mentioned that its income from gas flaring fines made up 2.71 percent of its overall revenue of N9.932 trillion gathered from oil and gas companies during the 12-month period of 2025.

The NUPRC mentioned that it also gathered oil and gas royalties, rental fees for concessions, and various other oil and gas charges during the period being examined.

A detailed analysis of its revenue from gas flare penalties showed that the NUPRC reported a loss of N22.724 billion in January 2025, whereas it generated N20.046 billion, N19.766 billion, and N24.139 billion in February, March, and April 2025, respectively.

It also mentioned that it gathered N42.854 billion, N23.939 billion, N25.413 billion, and N28.002 billion in May, June, July, and August 2025 respectively, whereas in September, October, November, and December 2025, gas flare penalties obtained from non-compliant companies amounted to N25.694 billion, N28.796 billion, N27.929 billion, and N25.444 billion respectively.

In contrast, during the same 12-month period in 2024, the upstream petroleum industry regulator mentioned that no payments were received for gas flaring penalties in January, February, and March; however, it collected N13.588 billion, N11.88 billion, N15.11 billion, and N16.62 billion in April, May, June, and July 2024, respectively.

Furthermore, the NUPRC mentioned that the gas flare fines gathered from non-compliant oil companies amounted to N17.758 billion, N21.69 billion, N12.94 billion, N12.49 billion, and N22.6 billion in August, September, October, November, and December 2024, respectively.

Additionally, the NUPRC stated that between January and December 2025, it gathered a total of N9.932 trillion, which included NNPC Limited Joint Venture (JV) and Production Sharing Contracts (PSC), royalty receivables amounting to N742.363 billion, and Project Gazelle Royalties of N941.274 billion for the same time frame.

It stated that the overall amount of N105.584 billion anticipated from Project Gazelle, which was scheduled for August 2025, was gathered in December 2025.

It also stated that “the sum transferred to the Federation Account in December 2025 amounted to N649.552 billion, whereas the overall amount sent by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) from January to December 2025 totaled N8.504 trillion.”

Commenting on its performance for December 2025, the NUPRC mentioned that during the final month of 2025, it generated a total of N649.552 billion, which accounts for 53.92 per cent of its planned target of N1.205 trillion.

It noted that the total amount collected in December was 1.59 percent less than the N660.041 billion gathered in November 2025, with the decline attributed to variations in crude oil prices and a decrease in the nation’s crude oil output compared to its projected target.