FG Committee Projects Cross River As Oil-Producing State

Jane Otu, South South

DAILY COURIER — The Federal Government’s Inter-Agency Committee on Nigeria’s Oil-Producing States has formally submitted its comprehensive report to the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), projecting Cross River State to be re-listed as an oil-producing state for the first time since 2008.

The report, covering nationwide verification of crude oil and gas coordinates from 2017 to 2025, was presented over the weekend to RMAFC Chairman Mr. M. B. Shehu by 10 members of the 14-man committee. The exercise, conducted between August 2025 and February 2026, involved rigorous field verifications, technical reconciliations, boundary resolutions, and final coordinate plotting at RMAFC headquarters from January 24 to 31, 2026.

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Mr. Shehu commended the committee for its “rigorous, technical and nationally significant” work, emphasizing that the verification of over 1,000 crude oil and gas coordinates was far from a desk exercise. It included physical site visits, hydrographic validations, boundary reconciliations, and security-supported confirmations across multiple states.

The multi-agency committee drew representatives from 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 (OSGF), the Nigerian Hydrographic Agency, and relevant security agencies. Their mandate focused on scientifically determining the precise locations of oil and gas assets within Nigeria’s onshore and offshore boundaries.

The team visited more than 12 states, including Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, Abia, and Cross River. Key findings resolved longstanding boundary overlaps through equitable, evidence-based shared attributions for reservoirs straddling state lines, including those between Rivers–Akwa Ibom, Delta–Edo, Delta–Ondo, Imo–Rivers, Imo–Anambra, and Akwa Ibom–Cross River.

For Cross River State, the report’s technical projections are particularly significant: the state is positioned to regain oil-producing status with more than 100 producing oil wells attributed from verified onshore and offshore reservoir coordinates. A major contributor is Oil Mining Lease (OML) 114, located within the state’s maritime territory in the Cross River estuary.

This development is seen as a potential economic turning point for Cross River, ending years of controversy and advocacy following its delisting from oil-producing status after a 2008 boundary-related adjustment linked to Supreme Court rulings favoring neighboring states like Akwa Ibom. The projection vindicates long-standing claims backed by geological and scientific evidence.

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The submission paves the way for possible implementation pending presidential assent from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Upon approval, the RMAFC Board of Commissioners will hold a plenary to finalize the operational framework, update Nigeria’s official list of oil-producing states, and adjust revenue derivation allocations accordingly—including the 13% derivation fund for qualifying states.

While the report represents a major step toward transparency and accuracy in revenue attribution, some neighboring states have raised concerns over disputed wells, and RMAFC has clarified that the document is a draft under review, with no final decisions or reallocations made yet.

This verification effort underscores the Federal Government’s push for equitable, data-driven resource management in Nigeria’s oil sector, potentially benefiting multiple states through new well attributions and resolved disputes.