Between 1999 and 2013, oil giant Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) generated $44 billion in revenue for the Federal Government, the firm’s report has said.
The firm and its sister company, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo), paid $4billion in taxes and royalties to the government last year. A breakdown shows SPDC paid $2.6 billion and SNEPCO, $1.4 billion.
These are contained in the report published by Shell in complaince with the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) guidelines, which mandate oil firms to publish payments to the government.
In its 2013 Sustainability Report , Shell said the disclosures would help in entrenching transparency on how such revenues are disbursed.
The company said: “Our operations generate revenue through taxes and royalties for governments around the world. These funds can help support a country’s economy and contribute to local development. We believe greater transparency in payments to governments, and how they are used, is important for building trust between businesses such as ours and the communities we work alongside.
“We work openly with governments on matters of taxes and royalties. We are a founder and board member of the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI). This initiative requires both governments and companies to disclose revenues received from oil and mineral activities.
“In 2003, Shell was the first company to publish the royalties, taxes and other payments made to the government, with its permission and support. Shell started to voluntarily publish an annual revenue transparency report in 2012.
“It provides an overview of the revenues we pay to host governments in certain key countries in respect of our activities, where such disclosure is not prohibited by the host government. We took this step to reinforce efforts to increase transparency on revenues to governments ahead of any mandatory requirements taking effect.”
Shell said to help improve accountability, it supports a global reporting rule for the industry, in line with EITI goals to achieve greater transparency, adding that it is monitoring the implementation of United States’ and European Union’s (EU) regulations and actively engaging with others to find a workable and common global standard.
“In 2013, Shell paid globally $20.3 billion in corporate taxes, and $4.1 billion in royalties. We collected $80.9 billion in excise duties and sales taxes on our fuel and other products on behalf of governments,” the report added.
The report also noted other Shell’s contributions to the economy. They include SPDC and SNEPCo contracts awarded to Nigerian companies last year worth $1.5 billion, 4,000 direct employees working at SPDC and SNEPCo, thousands of indirect jobs created, adding that about 95 per cent of employees at SPDC and SNEPCo are Nigerians.
It also said SPDC and SNEPCo’s contributions to the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) last year was $180.6 million while $104.1 million was the contribution from SPDC and SNEPCo to community development projects.