Ike Amos
Abuja — Nigeria’s earnings from the oil and gas sector dipped by 3.52 percent to N1.41 trillion in the first quarter of 2019, compared to N1.465 trillion recorded in the fourth quarter of 2018, according to data obtained from the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN.
The CBN, in its Economic Report for the First Quarter of 2019, however, stated that the amount earned from the sales of oil and gas represented an increase of 9.76 per cent compared to oil revenue of N1.288 trillion recorded in the first quarter of 2018.
The CBN blamed the decline in oil revenue in the quarter under review, compared to the previous quarter on the deficit in crude oil production and exports.
The deficit in production and export, the CBN said, arose from maintenance operations at the various Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, terminals.
“Gross oil receipt, at N1.413 trillion or 61.2 percent of the total revenue, was below both the proportionate quarterly budget estimate and the receipts in the preceding quarter by 26.4 percent and 3.5 percent, respectively.
“Federally-collected revenue, at N2.309 trillion, in the first quarter of 2019, was 30.5 percent and 4.2 percent lower than the proportionate quarterly budget estimate and the receipts in the preceding quarter, respectively.
“The development relative to the budget estimate was due to the shortfall in receipts from both oil and non-oil revenue components in the review quarter. Federal Government estimated retained revenue and total expenditure were N798.82 billion and N1.197 trillion, respectively, resulting in an estimated deficit of N398.22 billion in the first quarter of 2019.”
Giving a breakdown of the country’s oil revenue in the first quarter 2019, the CBN report stated that crude oil and gas sales, accounted for 9.69 percent of the total oil revenue, with N137.09 billion.
The report noted that oil and gas sales in the first quarter of 2019 appreciated by 32.3 percent and 39.6 percent, compared to N103.62 billion and N98.21 billion recorded in fourth quarter 2018 and first quarter 2018 respectively.
The report added that Petroleum Profit Tax/Royalties accounted for 61.64 percent of total gross oil revenue, with N871.36 billion recorded in the quarter under review, dropping by 16.55 percent and 5.93 percent compared with N1.044 trillion and N926.33 billion in the fourth and first quarters of 2018 respectively.
The report further stated that N405.29 billion was earned from other unlisted oil products, representing 28.67 percent of total oil revenue.