The Senate on Tuesday approved the payment of N68.9bn as outstanding subsidy claims to 20 petroleum marketers.

The breakdown showed that N10.8bn was approved as subsidy claim to Tanzila Petroleum Company, while N58.1bn was okayed for 19 oil marketing companies.

Some of the oil marketers are Conoil, Oando, A&E Petroleum, Matrix Energy, Ontario Oil & Gas Limited, Swift Oil Limited and Honeywell.

Others are Blacklight, Fatgbems Petroleum, Forte Oil, Frado International, Tempogate Oil, Linc Nigeria Limited, IPMAN Investment, and Hudson Petroleum,  among others.

The approval followed the adoption of the report of its Committee on Petroleum Downstream on the Promissory Note Programme and a Bond Issuance to Settle Inherited Local Debts and Contractual Obligations to Petroleum Marketers.

Presenting the report, the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Petroleum (Downstream), Kabiru Marafa, observed that there were differences in submissions made by the Federal Ministry of Finance, the Petroleum Products Pricing Regulatory Agency and oil marketers.

He attributed the discrepancies to the use of different input parameters for the calculation of the subsidy payable value.

Marafa said the internal inconsistencies which did not follow the set processing parameters caused the delay in approving the subsidy.

Some of the oil marketers and the amount approved for them include Ontario Oil & Gas Limited, N9.8bn; Conoil, N8.3bn; Oando, N4.9bn; Matrix, N4.6bn; Honeywell, N4.3, and Swift Oil Limited, N4 bn.

Others are Forte Oil PLC, N3.8bn; Blacklight, N3.7bn; Stallionaire, N3bn; and Tempogate Oil, N2.3bn, among others.