We Paid Nigerian Government $4.5bn — Shell

Shell Companies in Nigeria paid the Nigerian government a total of $4.5 billion as production entitlements, taxes, royalties and fees last year, the company said in a new report which details payments in 25 countries where Shell has Upstream operations..

Production entitlements which are the host government’s share of production in the reporting period derived from projects operated by Shell was the highest share of payment amounting to over $3billion.

This includes the government’s share as a sovereign entity or through its participation as an equity or interest holder in projects within its sovereign jurisdiction (home country). Production entitlements arising from activities or interests outside of its home country are excluded, the report said.

It further said that in certain contractual arrangements, typically a production sharing contract, a government through its participation interest may contribute funding of capital and operating expenditure to projects, from which it derives production entitlement to cover such funding (cost recovery). Such cost recovery production entitlement is included.

The total amount paid in taxes by Shell on its income, profits or production (which include resource severance tax, and petroleum resource rent tax), including those settled by a government on behalf of Shell under a tax-paid concession in Nigeria amounted to over $700million.

The total royalties paid in 2022 by Shell to the Nigerian government was over $691million. The report said these are payments for the rights to extract oil and gas resources, typically at a set percentage of revenue less any deductions that may be taken.

Since 2016 Shell has made mandatory disclosures under the UK’s Reports on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014 (amended December 2015).

“We have published the revenues that our operations generate through taxes and royalties on a voluntary basis since 2012. We believe that being open about our tax payments helps people to understand how much we pay and why,” the report said.

In 2022, Shell paid $68.2 billion to governments. The company paid $13.4 billion in corporate income taxes and $8.2 billion in government royalties. In addition, it collected $46.6 billion in excise duties, sales taxes and similar levies on our fuel and other products on behalf of governments.