Oil and gas companies in Nigeria remitted ₦57.07 billion to Host Community Development
Trusts in 2024, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission has revealed.
According to a report obtained by The PUNCH on Monday, the amount represents three per
cent of the companies’ actual operating expenses for the previous year, as mandated by the Petroleum Industry Act.
The commission noted that this brings total contributions to the Host Community
Development Trusts to ₦65.15 billion, including ₦8.45 billion paid in 2023.
The Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) reported that it
received 207 applications for the establishment of Host Community Development Trusts, out of which 154 were approved and 136 successfully registered with the Corporate Affairs
Commission.
Regarding project management, the report revealed that 32 fund managers have been
approved to oversee fund disbursements, with 187 projects currently underway across
various Trusts.
It also noted that the Commission is developing and integrating its digital portal,
HostComply, aimed at supporting compliance tracking, fund allocation, reporting, and
dispute resolution.
However, the commission pointed out that key modules such as those for fund distribution
matrices, conflict resolution, and ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance)
performance reporting are yet to be completed.
Significant progress has been made in the development of the HostComply portal, the
commission stated. Data and information from the previous system have been successfully
migrated, and existing gaps are being addressed gradually.
While some modules such as remittance splitting are already functional, they are yet to be
fully integrated. Others, including dispute resolution and conflict management, are still underdevelopment.
The commission noted that several key modules remain outstanding for full deployment and integration. These include fund managers, vendors, conflict and resolution management, fines and penalties, records and archives, notifications, reporting, incident management,ESG and HCDP, the OPEX module (for calculation, posting, and distribution), fund distribution matrix, HCDT billing/demand notice/sabotage value modules, and workflow approval.
