Shell Plc paid $5.34 billion to the Nigerian government in 2024, making it the largest payment the company made to any government globally that year, despite its ongoing divestment from onshore oil operations in Nigeria.

This information comes from Shell’s annual “Payments to Governments” report, a mandatory disclosure under UK law, which provides transparency on taxes and royalties paid to host governments. Nigeria ranked above countries like Oman, Brazil, and Norway in total receipts from Shell in 2024.

The amount marks a sharp increase from the $3.8 billion Shell paid to Nigeria in 2023.

In 2024, Shell’s total payment of $5.34 billion to Nigeria was distributed among various federal institutions and agencies responsible for petroleum revenue management and regional development.

The Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation received the largest portion, over 71%, totaling $3.8 billion.

The payments are part of the $28.1 billion Shell distributed globally in 2024 to governments for extractive activities, reflecting a 5% year-on-year decline in total payouts that corresponded with a wider drop in profitability.

According to Shell’s 2024 report, $3.8 billion of the $5.34 billion paid to Nigeria came from production entitlements—the government’s share of crude oil output under joint venture and production sharing contracts.

An additional $648.7 million was paid in taxes, with royalties totaling $770.2 million. Fees and other statutory charges amounted to about $102 million.

Project-level data reveals that the East Asset, a major Shell production hub, received the largest share of entitlements, with $1.3 billion in payments. Oil Mining Lease 133 accounted for $136.6 million, mostly from taxes.

Outside Nigeria, Shell paid a total of $28 billion to governments in its operating countries. Oman received the second-largest portion with about $4.3 billion, followed by Brazil with $4.5 billion, Qatar with $3.33 billion, and Norway with $3.38 billion.

African countries received smaller sums: Egypt was paid $43 million, São Tomé and Príncipe $1.3 million, Tanzania $140,000, and Tunisia $29.3 million.

Shell received a $32 million refund from the UK government for decommissioning costs at the Brent field and other North Sea assets, down from $43 million in 2023.

That figure was down from the $43 million refund received in 2023.

Shell has operated in Nigeria for over eighty years but is now exiting its onshore oil business after facing years of operational challenges, community conflicts, oil spills, and increasing environmental liabilities in the Niger Delta.

The company says this divestment is part of its strategy to “simplify the portfolio” and advance its long-term goal of becoming a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050.