Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited has clarified that funds recently recovered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) from oil companies over outstanding Nembe Creek Trunkline transportation fees were owed to its joint venture (JV) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and were not recovered from Nembe.
The company said the clarification became necessary following media reports on the EFCC’s recovery of outstanding pipeline transportation fees from oil companies, which mentioned Nembe, formerly known as Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited, alongside Newcross Exploration and Production Limited.
According to the company, the reports created a misleading impression that Nembe was among the companies from which the EFCC recovered the funds.
Nembe explained that it operated the Nembe Creek Trunkline (NCTL) on behalf of its joint venture with NNPCL and provided crude oil transportation services to third-party operators, including Newcross Exploration and Production Limited.
It said the outstanding fees arose from the use of the pipeline by these operators, adding that Nembe was responsible for pursuing the payments on behalf of the JV.
The company noted that crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, insecurity and operational disruptions, particularly since the COVID-19 period, had affected pipeline operations, transportation volumes and reconciliation of payments.
It said it made repeated efforts to recover the outstanding fees through formal demands, correspondence and engagements with the affected parties before the EFCC intervened.
Nembe explained that the commission’s statutory investigative and recovery powers helped secure the funds it had been pursuing on behalf of the JV.
It stressed that the recovered money represented payment for pipeline transportation services owed to the JV by oil firms that used the facility, not funds recovered from Nembe.
The company maintained that it was the operator responsible for pursuing the outstanding payments and was not the defaulting party.
It added that the recovery should be understood as the settlement of outstanding service fees rather than evidence of wrongdoing or financial misconduct by Nembe.
The company also suggested that changes in the EFCC’s leadership may have contributed to the confusion surrounding the recovery, insisting that it was not indebted to the JV in respect of the pipeline transportation fees.
On a separate matter, Nembe said stamp duty arising from the acquisition of Oil Mining Lease (OML) 29 and the Nembe Creek Trunkline remained under reconciliation with the relevant statutory authorities.
It emphasised that the stamp duty issue was distinct from the outstanding pipeline transportation fees recovered by the EFCC.
The company welcomed the recovery, saying it represented revenue due to the joint venture.