Oando Plc Favour Ifeoluwa & Akinola Ajibade Oando Plc says it has completed and won the bid for the operatorship of oil block KON 13 in Angola. The firm which recently acquired Eni of Italy’s oil assets in Nigeria, said that the award of the oil block located in Angola’s onshore Kwanza Basin followed a competitive bidding process by the country’s oil and gas sector regulator. It further said hat the asset in which it owns 45 per cent participating interest, has estimated prospective resources of 770 to 1,100 million barrels of oil. Oando is handling its operations relating to the asset through its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER). “Oando Plc, Africa’s leading indigenous energy solutions provider listed on both the Nigerian Exchange Limited and Johannesburg Stock Exchange is pleased to announce that its upstream subsidiary, Oando Energy Resources (OER), has been awarded operatorship of Block KON 13 in Angola’s Onshore Kwanza Basin, following a...
By Favour & Akinola Ajibade
The Federal Government has set up a technical committee to resolve issues relating to the payment of tax liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) within a period of six months.
The committee, which comprises of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited ( NNPCL), Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission ( NUPRC) , Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority ( NMDPRA), Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS), the Presidency and the Presidency in the Office of Chief of Staff , Special Adviser Energy and her counterpart in Revenue Section, have been mandated by the Federal Government, to ensure that all tax liabilities are paid in the next six months.
Prior to this period, the government has ordered ship owners operating in the country to pay up their outstanding tax liabilities to the Federal Inland Revenue Service ( FIRS) within three months, with a view to ensure that all debts owed by owners are paid to this coffers of the government.
Recall that some companies were owing several millions of dollars in tax liabilities covering over 10 years.
Speaking on the issue during an interactive sessions with ship operators at the Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Special Adviser to the President on Revenue, Zacheaus Adedeji warned that Nigeria can no longer afford a situation where vessels are moving in and out of the country without prompt payment of their liabilities.
Adedeji notes that ship owners have received demand notices from Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in line with the extant laws of the country on tax liabilities covering ten year period from 2010 to 2019, and ranging in amount from $400,000 to $1.1 million per vessel, aggregating it to reach tens of millions of dollars.
“So, we’ve agreed to give the parties three months to come to the conclusion and we will also give a grace period of six months, when we will not enforce any of these laws, just to allow for reconciliation’, Adedeji said at the meeting.
“In essence, no vessel or ship will be detained or delayed. So, we give this six months break for them so that they can reconcile with this technical committee that we set up.
“Nigeria, as you know, is open for business and we are business-friendly, as you’ve seen from what we’re doing and what we will do.
“So, we are open, but that is not to say that anybody will take advantage of the country. We have the law and the law must be respected”, he said.
He allayed the fears of the stakeholders within the oil and gas sector, spelling out the agreement reached to avert vessel withdrawal so as not to disrupt the flow of products.
He said the problem arose from the demand notice to the vessel owners issued in accordance with extant tax laws to make their remittances.
Adedeji, however, warned that Nigeria would not succumb to blackmail as its laws must be obeyed.
“However, we will not detain or arrest any defaulting ship or vessel because this is what is causing panic.
“We’ve sent them demand notice and the agreement is that we should give them some time. So, we’ve agreed to set up a technical committee to resolve these issues.
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