FG begins verification of disputed oil, gas fields, wells in Niger Delta

The Federal Government has begun verification of disputed and newly drilled crude oil and gas fields and wells in the Niger Delta region.

9news Nigeria gathered through a reliable source in Asaba that the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr Mohammed Shehu, said the initiative is aimed at ensuring that every oil and gas producing states receive their rightful share of resources.

He said that the exercise was in consonance with the provisions of the law, citing paragraphs 32(a) Part I of the Third Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, as amended.

Shehu noted that the exercise was also informed by the various petitions by governors of Anambra, Delta, Imo, Edo, Ondo and River seeking to establish the rightful ownership and territorial boundaries of specific crude oil and gas assets.

According to Shehu, the assignment is to be carried out via Inter-Agency Technical Committee (IATC) comprising the RMAFC, Representatives of Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Office of the Surveyor General of the Federation(OSGOF) and the National Boundary Commission (NBC).

“We announce the inauguration of the IATC and reaffirm our unwavering commitment to accurately identify the locations of crude oil and gas fields and wells within the disputed areas and the newly drilled crude oil and gas wells.

“The 1999 Constitution as amended, empowers the RMAFC amongst other functions to monitor accruals into and disbursement of revenue from the federation account.

“This initiative is driven by former concerns expressed by the executive governors of some states such as Anambra -Imo, Anambra -Delta regarding the rightful ownership and territorial boundaries of specific crude oil and gas assets.

“Key among these is the Aneize oil field within OML 143; the Eyine and Ameshi fields. In Delta, we shall examine the identified locations and verify the coordinates of newly drilled oil and gas wells within the area spanning from 2017 to date,” he said.

The RMAFC boss said the verification exercise would be extended to Rivers, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Ondo, Edo and Anambra states in response to their complaints.

He said that the verification exercise would rely on geospatial data provided by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission which would be validated and plotted while the Surveyor-Generals of the affected states would observe the entire process.

According to him, the goal is to ensure a fair and transparent allocation of oil revenue grounded in accurate data while addressing long-standing disputes over the location and rightful ownership of these vital energy assets.