By Our Reporter
ABUJA (CONVERSEER) – The Federal Government Inter-Agency Committee on Nigeria’s Oil-Producing States has submitted its final report on the 2017–2025 nationwide verification of crude oil and gas coordinates to the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr Mohammed Shehu.
The report was formally received on Friday, 13 February 2026, following an intensive six-month verification exercise conducted from August 2025 to February 2026.
An independent source at the RMAFC confirmed that 10 of the 14 members of the Inter-Agency Committee presented the report to the RMAFC chairman.
The commission’s Chairman who commended the committee for a job well done, described the exercise as a rigorous and demanding assignment adding that the exercise which involved nationwide field verification, reconciliation of state submissions, and final plenary plotting of coordinates at RMAFC between January 24 and 31, 2026 was a huge success.
The federal government inter-agency committee comprised representatives from various agencies, including RMAFC, the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation (OSGoF), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), the Nigerian Hydrographic Agency, and relevant security agencies.
During the verification process, the team visited over 12 states, including Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, Abia, and Cross River, verifying over 1,000 new crude oil and gas coordinates based on confirmed onshore and offshore boundaries.
Findings from the report indicate that nearly all oil-producing states will benefit from new oil well attributions arising from the verified coordinates.
Several boundary-related overlaps were resolved through shared attributions, including those between Rivers and Akwa Ibom, Delta and Edo, Delta and Ondo, Imo and Rivers, Imo and Anambra, and Akwa Ibom and Cross River.
According to the inter-agency committee report, Akwa Ibom State is expected to gain the highest number of newly attributed oil wells, including over 100 wells resulting from coordinates submitted by Cross River State, largely due to the implications of the 2012 Supreme Court judgment.
Cross River State on the other hand is projected to be re-listed as an oil-producing state with over 200 oil wells, potentially for the first time since 2008, based on verified onshore and offshore reservoir coordinates, particularly from OML 114 located within Cross River’s maritime territory.
Although Cross River State, following the last exercise earned the highest number of surface coordinates amounting to over 245, Akwa-Ibom State going by the Supreme Court judgment of 2012 is expected to retain the contentious 76 oil wells pending further judicial interpretation.
Despite these deductions, technical projections reportedly place Cross River in a strong position to regain its oil-producing status with over 100 active oil wells from the verified coordinates.
Recall that in May 2024, Cross River State benefited from an inter-agency committee report attributing 67 oil wells from OML 114 to the state; however, the report was not implemented at the time.
However, in 2025, Cross River State adopted a more scientific and geological approach, providing compelling evidence that the state is indeed oil-producing.
Accordingly, the RMAFC chairman, Mohammed Shehu is expected to forward the committee’s report to the President for onward review and implementation.
Upon presidential approval, the RMAFC Board of Commissioners will convene a plenary to approve the operational framework for implementing the new attributions and subsequently update Nigeria’s list of oil-producing states.
