*Offshore oil platform.
23 November 2016, Abuja – The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Dr. Ibe Kachikwu yesterday said the Federal Government will pay off the discounted $5.1 billion cash-call debt it is owing International Oil Companies (IOCs) within five years.
Though he did not state when repayment will start, he said its timeline was part of the concessions Nigeria got from the IOCs for discounting $1.7 billion from the cash-call arears.
The minister had, at the 72nd National Economic Council (NEC) meeting, said through negotiations with the IOCs, the $6.8 billion past cash-calls burden on the federation was reduced to $5.1 billion, to be paid on an improved oil output.
But speaking yesterday after declaring open the inaugural meeting of the National Council on Hydrocarbon in Abuja, Kachikwu also said in the agreement, the payment from incremental oil production will not affect Nigeria’s budget production benchmark of 2.2 million barrels per day (bpd).
He added that the discount translated to almost N8 billion in savings to the country.
- The Nation
