In addition to paying $986 million in 2021 royalties and corporate taxes to the Nigerian government, Shell Companies in Nigeria (SCiN) also contributed $33.82 million in direct social investment.
Shell in an advert placed in Business Standards titled: “Shell Companies In Nigeria….Powering Progress” revealed this as one of the ways the companies in the group are contributing to the Nigerian economy.
The social investment was mainly in projects related to community, health, education, road safety and enterprise programmes. These projects are often implemented in partnership with local authorities.
A breakdown of the taxes and royalties and taxes paid by Shell companies are as follows: Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC $424 million; , similarly, Shell Nigeria Exploration and Production Company (SNEPCo ) also paid $562 million.
In 2021, also it launched company known as Shell Energy Nigeria, which aims to develop new gas distribution solutions and deliver competitive and reliable energy for power generation and industrial use across the country.
For more than 60 years, Shell has invested in Nigeria’s economy and the Nigerian people. “Together, we have built robust oil and gas businesses and contributed to neighbouring communities. Our commitment remains strong, even as the content of our asset portfolio changes.”
The company announced a review of its Nigerian onshore oil investments and has decided it will focus it ambitions on two key areas:
- Deep-water exploration and production in the Gulf of Guinea, where the renewal of the OML 118 licence for 20 years has opened up further opportunities; and
- Expansion of the gas supply and distribution network within Nigeria and to international markets.
These ambitions align with Shell’s Powering Progress strategy and support Nigeria’s vision to provide reliable, affordable power to its people.
“In 2021, Nigeria continued to receive the largest concentration of social investment in Shell. Our health-care and education programmes helped thousands more people over the last year. We continue to work to bring energy to off-grid communities through All On, our not-for-profit impact investment company.” according to the company’s Nigeria Briefing Notes
It promised that it will continue to clean up oil spills, despite the challenges arising from the illegal actions of third parties, such as sabotage and crude oil theft. The clean-up and remediation in the Ogoniland community of Bodo has made solid progress, with around 60% of the area remediated and 300,000 mangrove seedlings planted.