FG begins mapping of disputed oil, gas wells to enhance revenue distribution

The federal government says it has commenced the plotting of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells to ensure that oil-producing states receive their rightful share of revenue.
Mohammed Shehu, chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), announced the development on Monday at a press briefing in Abuja.
The event also witnessed the unveiling of a committee, according to a statement by Maryam Yusuf, RMAFC spokesperson.
Speaking at the news conference, Shehu said an interagency technical committee (IATC), which was inaugurated by the RMAFC to verify the coordinates of the disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells, had completed the exercise, noting that the next step is the plotting of the coordinates.
He said the IATC comprises the National Boundary Commission (NBC), the office of the surveyor-general of federation (OSGoF), the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), and the RMAFC.
The chairman said the committee was saddled with the responsibilities of verifying and plotting coordinates of the disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells of the affected oil-producing states.
Shehu said the IATC would plot the coordinates “which would lead to resolving the location of the disputed oil and gas wells as well as attribute the newly drilled oil and gas wells to the rightful owners”.
“The Constitution provides that 13 per cent of revenue from minerals, especially crude oil and gas, should be paid to the states where they are produced, this is why the verification and plotting of coordinates of the new and disputed oil and gas wells is not optional, but a constitutional obligation,” he said.
Shehu said the exercise cuts across all oil-producing states, including Akwa Ibom, Cross River, Bayelsa, Ondo, Rivers, Delta, and offshore locations.
He said disputes often arise whenever new oil fields come on stream, as multiple states may lay claim to them, stressing that the facts on the ground will determine ownership or whether it must be shared.
To guarantee transparency and credibility, Shehu said the commission undertook extensive fieldwork between September 2025 and January 2026 covering creeks, high seas, and offshore terrains, alongside the surveyors-general of the affected states.
“We went to the field ourselves, and where we could not physically access, we deployed drones to take the coordinates,” he said.
Shehu said all data collected were witnessed by representatives of the affected states, assuring stakeholders that the commission would remain impartial throughout the process.
“RMAFC will be an unbiased umpire and will deploy justice, equity, and fairness for which it is known,” he said.
The RMAFC chairman expressed confidence that the exercise would significantly reduce disputes and strengthen trust in the derivation process.
In 2012, the supreme court ruled that some 76 offshore oil wells belong to Akwa Ibom State and not Cross River, ending a long-running controversy over their ownership.
In July 2025, the Akwa Ibom state government cautioned against “renewed incitement, inflammatory media campaigns” over the state’s ownership of the 76 oil wells, accusing Cross River government of making “incendiary and patently false claims that have agitated the people of Akwa Ibom State”.
In the same month, the Cross River government insisted that the renewed agitation for a revisit of the issue of the 76 oil wells followed the discovery of fresh facts which clearly indicated the oil wells were wrongly awarded to Akwa Ibom.
Similarly, a long-standing dispute over 17 oil wells was resolved by the supreme court in favor of Rivers state.
In July 2021, the supreme court issued an order restraining the federal government and its agencies from ceding the oil wells to Imo state.