The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) remitted N8.79 trillion to the Federation Account jointly run by the federal government, state and local governments between January and October this year, according to a presentation at the November Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC) meeting.
The commission also recorded a significant rise in revenue inflows for October 2025 alone, remitting a total of N873,104,663,972.70 to the Federation Account, the FAAC data seen by THISDAY revealed.
This marked a 17.67 per cent increase compared to the N741.99 billion collected in September 2025, signalling improved operational performance despite persistent crude oil market volatility. The sources of funds included: Royalty collections, gas flare penalties, rentals, and miscellaneous oil revenues for the month under review.
“The commission’s performance from January to October 2025 is N8,795,528,705,538.82, which is inclusive of NNPC Ltd JV & PSC (Production Sharing Contract) Royalty Receivables of N1,021,550,672,578.87 for the period of January to October 2025 and Project Gazelle receipt of N835,689,852,435.38 for November 2024…” the FAAC document showed.
The commission clarified that there were no receivables due for December 2024, February, August, September, and October 2025 under Project Gazelle.
October’s revenue improvements arrived at a crucial time for the federal government as it grapples with fiscal pressures, exchange rate challenges, and declining oil production resulting from mostly facility downtime.
The 17.7 per cent month-on-month increase in October offered a temporary financial breather, boosting federal allocations and enabling states and local governments to meet recurrent spending obligations.
However, the shortfall against the budget, representing 27.53 per cent underperformance highlighted the need for intensified efforts to stabilise production volumes, enforce compliance, and deepen reforms across the upstream oil sector.
According to the document, the outstanding obligations of NNPC reported at the October 2025 FAAC meeting were $1,480,610,652.58 and N6,332,884,316,237.13 for oil liftings and royalty receivables respectively.
However, the commission said it recently received a Presidential Approval to ‘nil off’ the outstanding obligations of NNPC as at December 31, 2024 as submitted by the stakeholder alignment committee on the reconciliation of indebtedness between NNPC and the federation.
Consequently, out of $1,480,610,652.58 and N6,332,884,316,237.13, it stated that the affected outstanding obligations that have been ‘nil off’ are $1,421,727,723.00 and N5,573,895,769,388.45. “The commission has passed the appropriate accounting entries as approved,” the document showed.
From the foregoing, the NUPRC stated that the outstanding statutory obligations of the NNPC from January to October 2025, according to the FAAC report, are: $56,808,752.32 and N1,021,550,672,578.87 for PSC and MCA (Modified Carry Agreement) liftings and JV royalty receivables respectively.
However, the commission said it received $55,003,997.00 in the month under review from the outstanding, leaving a balance of $1,804,755.32 and N1,021,550,672,578.87. The amount of $55.003.997.00 received, it said, is part of the total collection reported for sharing by the federation in November.
But although the October performance showed strong month-on-month growth, the document indicated that collections still fell below the approved monthly budget. Against a revenue projection of N1.204 trillion, actual collections represented 72.47 per cent, leaving a negative variance of N331.70 billion.
NUPRC attributed the shortfall primarily to fluctuations in crude oil prices and a noticeable drop in crude oil production, factors that have repeatedly affected government revenue projections in 2025.
Despite these challenges, the commission’s upward performance trajectory compared with the previous month offered relief for federal and state governments relying heavily on oil-linked revenues.
A review of the revenue categories showed mixed performance across key streams, with oil and gas royalties for October standing at N807.08 billion, representing 70.54 per cent of the monthly budget for this category. Though below target, this reflected an increase of N143.28 billion from September’s N663.80 billion, highlighting a marked recovery in royalty inflows.
For gas flare penalty, the commission collected N61.70 billion, surpassing both the budgeted and previous month’s figures. This represented 105.52 per cent of the monthly target and a modest month-on-month increase.
Besides, in October rental revenue came in at N3.60 billion, higher than the September figure of N2.16 billion, a positive variance representing 65.15 per cent month-on-month growth.
Collections in the miscellaneous category dropped sharply to N0.394 billion, considerably below expected levels and the previous month’s N5.62 billion, marking the steepest decline among all categories.
Overall, the total revenue of N873.10 billion exceeded the previous month’s performance by N131.12 billion, reinforcing a steady recovery after earlier-year fluctuations.