EFCC Only Recovered Pipeline Transportation Fees, Nembe Clarifies 

Alex Enumah

The Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited (Nembe), has clarified that recent recoveries by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has nothing to do with the funds recovered from oil companies in respect of outstanding obligations relating to the Nembe Creek Trunkline. 

The oil company, formerly known as Aiteo Eastern Exploration and Production Company Limited, explained that contrary to media reports the recovered funds relate to outstanding pipeline transportation fees from the use of a Joint Venture (JV) pipeline.

Nembe management in a statement yesterday lamented that the media reports, which referred to Aiteo alongside Newcross Exploration and Production Limited, have created two misleading impressions of Nembe’s role in the recoveries, particularly regarding outstanding pipeline transportation fees.

According to Nembe’s management, the company’s name was changed to Nembe Exploration and Production Company Limited in the second quarter of 2025. 

“The position is straightforward, Nembe, as operator of the Nembe Creek Trunkiine (NCTL) on behall of its Joint Venture (NV) with the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), provided crude oil transportation services to third party operators, including Newcross. Over time, outstanding transportation fees arose from the use of the pipeline, which Nembe was responsible for pursuing on behalf of the JV,” the statement read in part. 

The management recalled that the matter dated back several years, to when the Nigerian oil and gas industry was grappling with widespread crude oil theft, pipeline vandalism, insecurity and other operational disruptions, particularly since the COVID-19 period. 

According to Nembe, the problems which affected crude transportation through the NCTL made the reconciliation of volumes delivered by individual operators increasingly difficult. 

“Before the EFCC’s involvement, Nembe made repeated efforts to recover the outstanding payments through direct demands, correspondence and engagements with the pipe line users.

“These efforts did not secure full settlement of the indebtedness. The EFCC subsequent intervention brought its statutory investigative and recovery powers to bear on the outstanding obligations, facilitating the recovery of funds that Nembe had already sought to recover on behalf of the JV. 

“The EFCC’s intervention in respect of these transportation fees was therefore aimed at recovering money owed to the JV, not money from Nembe. Nembe was the operator responsible for pursuing the outstanding payments on behalf of the JV, not the defaulting party in the underlying transactions,” the statement added. 

Nembe therefore urged that the recovery of these fees should be understood as the settlement of outstanding payment obligations for services rendered, rather than evidence of wrongdoing or financial misconduct by the company. 

The oil firm stated that changes in the leadership of the anti-graft agency may have contributed to a misunderstanding of the circumstances surrounding the matter and the respective roles of the parties involved.

The management stressed that Nembe is not indebted to the JV in respect of the pipeline transportation fees in question, adding that the separate issue concerning stamp duty arising from the acquisition of OML 29 and the NCTL remains the subject of an ongoing reconciliation process with the relevant statutory authorities. 

“Nembe continues to engage in that process, during which the applicable obligations and amounts are being examined. This matter is entirely distinct from the recovery of outstanding pipeline transportation fees and should be treated accordingly. 

“Nembe welcomes the recovery of outstanding transportation revenues owed to the joint venture and trusts that subsequent reporting will reflect the true nature of its involvement: as the operator that provided the services, pursued payment and benefited, together with its joint venture partner, from the recovery of amounts properly due,” the statement noted.