Fully supported by the Nigerian federal government through Act No. 8 of March 29, 1996, the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone has been operational since April 1997 and is regarded as a foreign territory within Nigeria. The resulting synergy created between the oil and gas industry, the Oil and Gas Free Zone Authority and federal branches of the Nigerian government has created a private sector-led operation that has efficiency with minimal bureaucracy.

• No Value Added Tax (VAT) and no withholding taxes for storage facility activities and services;
  
  
• No corporate income tax;
  
  
• Full repatriation of corporate profits;
  
  
• No expatriate quota limits or residence permits required;
  
  
• No pre-shipment inspection and issuance of Bank Form M required prior to shipment of material from country of origin. Customers with Bank Bonds executed with Customs can take goods into Nigerian territory after inspection and examination, in minimal time;
  
  
• Cargo importation into the Free Zone requires no customs clearance until scheduled for shipment to a Nigerian destination from the Zone. No customs clearance or payment is required for shipments from the Zone to international destinations. Non-Zone activities require clearance and duty within 30 days of arrival;
  
  
• Cash flow management with Customs Duty Scheduling System. With bank bond/guarantee in place, Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone registrants may obtain Customs release of cargo required in Nigerian territory (onshore and offshore), with payment of duty and perfection of Customs entries on actual goods released within 14 days of final destination delivery. In addition, Free Zone activities allow for partial importation/delivery and thus partial payment and deferment of customs duty on material that remains in storage in the Free Zone;
  
  
• Enterprises operating in the Free Zone are allowed to export up to 100% of their products to Nigerian Customs Territory;
  
  
• Duty-free importation of raw materials to the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone;
  
  
• Import duty on goods manufactured, processed or assembled in the Free Zone and exported to Nigerian Customs Territory is assessed at a duty rate applicable to raw materials in the state in which they were originally introduced;
  
  
• A 75% discount on customs duties for all material and equipment processed and manufactured in the Free Zone and exported to Nigerian Customs Territory;
  
  
• Non-Free Zone cargo can be stored and utilised within a company’s dedicated storage area(s), provided that Free Zone inventory is clearly segregated;
  
  
• Under the Free Zone mandate, air freight (Air France, Panalpina, and DAS) into Port Harcourt can be immediately transferred to the Onne Oil and Gas Free Zone under customs escort and delivered through the Customs duty scheduling system;
  
  
• No export duty on equipment and materials shipped into the Free Zone and exported to other countries in the sub-Saharan region or the original country of origin;
  
  
• Complete logistical infrastructure and support base with over 2km of deep-draft jetty (12m maximum at low tide), warehousing of over 80,000 sqm, and industrial area of over 900,000 sqm with another 900,000 sqm under development;
  
  
• Secure residential estate within the Free Zone with a full range of recreational facilities.