Oil giant, Royal Dutch Shell has provided details of its contribution to the Nigerian economy in the last one year.
According to a statement the company made available to newsmen, the oil major contributed more than N5 trillion ($34 billion) to the Nigerian government between 2005 and 2008 “as taxes, royalties and energy production”.
The payment, the company was its joint venture “contribution to the economic development of Nigeria, which involves the production of oil and gas and payment of royalties and taxes.”
“The Federal Government receives about 95 percent of the revenue after costs from our onshore production in the Delta. The Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCO), which manages our offshore business in deep water, have paid nearly $2 billion in tax and royalties over the last four years.”
The company revealed that it produced an average of more than 850, 000 barrels of oil equivalent per day, around 39 per cent of the country’s total oil and gas production in 2008.
Meanwhile Shell said it awarded contracts of over N130.5 billion ($900 million) to indigenous companies in 2008
“As far as possible, we aim to use Nigerian contractors and hire workers from the local communities where we operate”
The largest contribution by Shell companies in Nigeria is, according to the statement, through the taxes and royalties “we pay and the energy we produce. Nigeria depends on the oil industry for approximately 95 per cent of export earnings and 80 per cent of government revenue.”