October revenue jumps 17.7% to ₦873bn as oil royalties, gas flare penalties boost inflows despite crude output challenges.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) has announced that it remitted a total of ₦8.79 trillion to the Federation Account between January and October 2025.
A briefing note from the Commission revealed a significant rise in inflows for October alone, with ₦873.1 billion transferred to the Federation Account, a 17.67 percent increase from the ₦741.99 billion posted in September. The figure was presented at the November meeting of the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC).
According to the document, the funds were generated from multiple upstream revenue streams, including oil and gas royalties, gas flare penalties, rentals, and other miscellaneous receipts.
The briefing showed that the Commission’s performance figure, ₦8.795 trillion includes NNPC Limited’s Joint Venture and Production Sharing Contract (PSC) royalty receivables amounting to ₦1.02 trillion for the period under review, as well as ₦835.69 billion received in November 2024 under Project Gazelle. It clarified that no receivables were recorded for December 2024, February, August, September, and October 2025 under the project.
FAAC documents also highlighted outstanding obligations from NNPC Limited as of the October 2025 sitting: $1.48 billion and ₦6.33 trillion relating to oil liftings and royalty arrears.
However, NUPRC confirmed it had secured Presidential approval to “nil off” a large portion of these legacy debts following recommendations from the stakeholder alignment committee on NNPC–federation reconciliation. Out of the outstanding amounts, $1.421 billion and ₦5.57 trillion have now been cleared, with appropriate accounting entries already processed.
For the January–October 2025 period, the remaining statutory obligations attributed to NNPC stand at $56.8 million and ₦1.02 trillion for PSC/MCA liftings and JV royalty receivables. The Commission said it received $55 million of this in October, leaving a balance of $1.8 million alongside the ₦1.02 trillion outstanding.
Despite improved October performance, total collections still fell below the approved monthly revenue projection of ₦1.204 trillion, achieving only 72.47 percent and resulting in a ₦331.70 billion shortfall. NUPRC attributed the underperformance to fluctuating crude oil prices and declining national production levels, both of which have weighed heavily on government revenues throughout 2025.
Gas flare penalty receipts performed strongly, totaling ₦61.70 billion, representing 105.52 percent of the monthly target and reflecting a modest month-on-month increase.
Oil and gas royalties for October amounted to ₦807.08 billion, equivalent to 70.54 percent of the category’s budgeted revenue. Although below target, the figure represents a sharp ₦143.28 billion rise from the ₦663.80 billion recorded in September, indicating a rebound in royalty inflows.
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