13% Derivation: FG begins plotting coordinates for new, disputed oil fields

By Obas Esiedesa, Abuja

The Federal Government, through the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), has commenced the process of plotting coordinates for newly drilled and disputed oil and gas fields located along the boundaries of several oil-producing states.

The affected areas involve boundary locations between Edo and Delta states, Ondo and Delta, Anambra and Delta, Anambra and Imo, Rivers and Imo, Rivers and Bayelsa, Rivers and Akwa Ibom, as well as Cross River and Akwa Ibom.

Speaking at the opening of a five-day exercise involving officials of the affected states and relevant federal agencies in Abuja, the Chairman of RMAFC, Dr Mohammed Shehu, said the coordinates of the oil and gas fields had been identified and would be plotted during the meeting.

Shehu assured the states of fairness and transparency in the process, noting that the Commission has a constitutional mandate to ensure the equitable distribution of the 13 per cent derivation fund to oil- and gas-producing states.

He explained that in June 2025, the Commission inaugurated an inter-agency technical committee comprising the National Boundary Commission, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) and RMAFC to verify and plot the coordinates of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells.

“It is constitutional that 13 per cent derivation is paid to states where mineral resources, especially crude oil and gas, are produced,” Shehu said. “In line with this, the NUPRC requested the Commission to verify the coordinates of new and disputed oil wells, and that is what we have done.”

He disclosed that officials of the committee carried out field verification exercises between September and October 2025, during which they visited offshore locations, creeks and onshore sites to physically take the coordinates.

According to him, the exercise was conducted in collaboration with surveyors-general of the oil-producing states, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation and the National Boundary Commission to ensure transparency and accuracy.

“The plotting of the coordinates will now commence. There have always been traditional disputes between states over ownership of oil wells, and this exercise is part of the continuous effort to verify such claims,” Shehu said.

He added that the five-day exercise would conclude with the preparation of a final report expected to be ready next week.

Earlier, the Chairman of the Inter-agency Technical Committee, Mrs Kadija Umo, said the Commission undertook physical verification of the coordinates to ensure their accuracy.

She explained that the exercise covers newly drilled oil wells as well as disputed locations brought to the Commission’s attention by some states.

“There are oil wells shared between two states and others shared among three states. Any state that submitted a complaint was visited, and the coordinates were provided and verified,” Umo said.

She noted that the current exercise marked the first time the Commission physically verified oil well coordinates on the field, rather than relying solely on information provided by regulatory agencies, in order to ensure accuracy and fairness in the allocation of derivation funds.

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