The clarification appears in a circular signed on Monday by NUPRC Chief Executive Mrs Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan, issued after industry stakeholders raised concerns about the levy’s rollout and structure. The commission said the $300 fee is retained and must be remitted to NAMA through its approved collection mechanism.
NUPRC instructed that the $300 charge be treated as a statutory air navigation cost for reporting and accounting purposes, and promised further guidance on classification and reporting obligations. Operators, licensees, lessees and helicopter service providers were directed to update their contractual, invoicing and cost-recovery arrangements to reflect the ruling.
The commission also tied the clarification to enhanced airspace governance. It requires NAMA to deploy low-altitude flight monitoring and surveillance systems to strengthen oversight and national security. As part of that monitoring framework, flight manifests, movement logs and offshore activity data will be required from relevant operators, with NAMA expected to specify the reporting format and schedule.
NUPRC reiterated that no new or revised fee directly affecting upstream petroleum operations should be introduced without prior consultation with the commission and stakeholders, in line with Section 25 of the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021.
The $300 landing charge has been the subject of a prolonged dispute among government, helicopter operators and oil companies. The commission’s clarification draws a line between the statutory air navigation levy and the Terminal Navigational Charge, particularly for helicopters serving offshore petroleum installations.
In March 2026 the federal government suspended enforcement of helicopter landing fees for two months. The petroleum-sector delegation that engaged on the issue included representatives of the NUPRC, international oil companies, the Oil Producers Trade Section and the Independent Petroleum Producers Group.
What happens next: NUPRC will issue additional guidance on reporting and classification while NAMA prepares technical monitoring and reporting requirements, leaving operators to align contracts and cost-recovery practices with the clarified regime.
