Shell plc has reported a sharp decline in payments to the Nigerian government for 2025, with remittances dropping by over 62 per cent to $2.02 billion following the company’s divestment from onshore oil assets in the country.
Figures contained in Shell’s latest “Payments to Governments” report showed that Nigeria received $2.02 billion in 2025, down from the $5.34 billion paid in 2024, when the country ranked as the company’s largest global beneficiary.
The latest payout comprised $1.24 billion in production entitlements, $236.99 million in taxes, $454.03 million in royalties and $87.90 million in fees.
Globally, Shell’s payments to governments also declined by about 15 per cent to $23.8 billion in 2025, compared to $28.1 billion recorded in 2024. The payments covered production entitlements, taxes, royalties, bonuses, fees and infrastructure-related obligations across 26 countries where the energy major operates extractive assets.
The decline in Nigeria’s receipts came amid Shell’s continued withdrawal from onshore operations in the Niger Delta, where years of crude theft, pipeline vandalism, operational disruptions and environmental liabilities had weighed on operations.
The company recently completed the sale of its onshore subsidiary assets to a consortium of indigenous firms as part of a broader restructuring strategy.
With the reduction in Nigerian remittances, Brazil emerged as one of Shell’s biggest government payment destinations, reflecting the company’s growing offshore production activities in the South American country, especially in its deepwater pre-salt fields. Norway, Qatar, Malaysia and Oman also ranked among the highest recipients of Shell’s payments during the year.
Shell stated that production entitlements globally totalled $8 billion in 2025, while tax payments stood at $10 billion and royalties at $3.8 billion. The company also paid $360.6 million in bonuses and $1.6 billion in fees during the period.
The report, prepared under the UK Reports on Payments to Governments Regulations 2014, covered payments made by Shell and its subsidiaries for oil, gas and mineral extraction activities. It excludes refining and certain gas-processing operations unless they are part of fully integrated upstream projects.
Shell Plc paid $5.34 billion to the Nigerian government in 2024, the largest amount it remitted to any country, even as it then continued to divest from its onshore oil operations in Africa’s largest crude producer.
But the 2024 figure represented a sharp increase from the $3.8 billion Shell paid to Nigeria in 2023.
Emmanuel Addeh
