The Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission has reopened the verification of disputed and newly drilled oil and gas wells across Nigeria after discarding an earlier draft report following complaints from states.
The fresh exercise, which covers oil and gas wells drilled from 2017 to date, is expected to help determine the locations of affected assets and could have implications for the distribution of the 13 per cent derivation revenue among oil-producing states.
The commission disclosed the development following the inauguration of a reconstituted Inter-Agency Technical Committee to conduct the verification.
RMAFC Chairman, Mohammed Bello Shehu, said the previous draft report was discarded after the commission received claims, counterclaims and complaints from various states. According to him, the major concerns centred on the coordinates and locations of disputed and newly drilled wells and the need to accurately plot them on approved maps.
Shehu explained that the new exercise was being conducted in line with RMAFC’s constitutional responsibility to monitor revenue accruing to and disbursed from the Federation Account.
He said the verification was also intended to strengthen fiscal transparency and ensure equitable distribution of the 13 per cent Derivation Fund among oil and gas-producing states.
The chairman directed members of the reconstituted committee to ensure that all coordinates, maps and boundaries used in determining the location of the affected wells accurately reflect the situation on the ground.
He also instructed the committee to take relevant court judgments into consideration, rely on approved maps and conduct physical field verification where necessary.
The committee has been structured into two levels to strengthen technical scrutiny and oversight.
The first tier consists of technical officers and experts drawn from RMAFC, the Office of the Surveyor-General of the Federation, the National Boundary Commission and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
The technical team is expected to undertake ground-level verification, field inspections and technical analysis before preparing an initial report.
The second tier is an Executive Committee led by the RMAFC leadership. It will provide strategic direction, coordinate the participating agencies and oversee the final approval of the findings before they are presented for formal ratification.
The commission said security agencies would also be engaged to provide administrative clearances and security coverage for officials involved in field operations, particularly in difficult coastal and other complex areas.
To increase transparency in the process, Surveyors-General from affected states and representatives of the Senate Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream) will participate as observers.
The development is significant because the location and status of oil and gas-producing assets are connected to the allocation of derivation revenue. States that qualify for derivation payments receive a share of federally collected revenue based on revenue generated from natural resources within their territories.
Disagreements over the location of oil wells can therefore have financial implications for states and influence how derivation revenue is distributed.
The re-verification is also expected to address concerns arising from earlier exercises by establishing the geographical coordinates of disputed wells through technical assessment and, where required, physical inspection.
Shehu urged members of the committee to approach the assignment with integrity, objectivity and fairness, saying the objective was to achieve clarity and resolve outstanding disputes over oil and gas wells among beneficiary states.
RMAFC Secretary, Tosin Adeyanju, similarly urged members to prioritise the national interest and demonstrate diligence and impartiality during the exercise.
He acknowledged that the committee’s work would attract scrutiny because of the concerns generated by previous verification exercises, but expressed confidence that the reconstituted process would produce a credible outcome.
The inauguration was attended by RMAFC commissioners representing several states, including Kano, Osun, Edo, Yobe, Taraba, Zamfara, Jigawa and Ogun, as well as officials from relevant government agencies.
The fresh verification will now determine whether the disputed wells should be classified differently from previous assessments and whether adjustments are required in the allocation of derivation revenue.
Until the new exercise is completed and its findings formally approved, the earlier draft report discarded by RMAFC will not serve as the basis for resolving the disputed well-location issues.
