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Cross River set to regain oil-producing status as FG begins verification
The committee’s report indicates that Akwa Ibom State is expected to gain the highest number of newly attributed oil wells, including over 100 wells traced to coordinates earlier submitted by Cross River State, largely due to the 2012 Supreme Court judgment.
Cross River State may be re-listed as an oil-producing state following the submission of the final report of the Federal Government Inter-Agency Committee on Nigeria’s Oil-Producing States.
The report, which covers the 2017–2025 nationwide verification of crude oil and gas coordinates, was formally presented to the Chairman of the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission (RMAFC), Dr. Mohammed Shehu, on Friday, February 13, 2026.
Akwa Ibom to Gain Highest Attributed Wells
According to the committee’s findings, Akwa Ibom State is expected to record the highest number of newly attributed oil wells, including over 100 wells linked to coordinates earlier submitted by Cross River State.
The development is largely tied to the implications of the 2012 Supreme Court judgment, which affected offshore oil well ownership between the two states.
Although Cross River reportedly recorded the highest number of surface coordinates, amounting to more than 245, Akwa Ibom is expected to retain 76 contentious oil wells based on the subsisting Supreme Court decision, pending any further judicial interpretation.
Cross River’s Projected Comeback
Despite the deductions, technical projections from the verification exercise reportedly place Cross River in a strong position to regain its oil-producing status with over 100 active oil wells from verified coordinates.
The report indicates that Cross River could be re-listed with over 200 oil wells, potentially marking its return to oil-producing status for the first time since 2008.
Much of the projected attribution is linked to verified onshore and offshore reservoir coordinates, particularly from Oil Mining Lease (OML) 114, said to be located within Cross River’s maritime territory.
Six-Month Nationwide Exercise
The verification exercise, conducted between August 2025 and February 2026, involved visits to more than 12 states, including Akwa Ibom, Rivers, Bayelsa, Delta, Edo, Ondo, Imo, Anambra, Abia, and Cross River.
Over 1,000 new crude oil and gas coordinates were verified during the exercise, based on confirmed onshore and offshore boundaries.
The outcome of the report is expected to have significant implications for revenue allocation under Nigeria’s derivation formula, which allocates funds to oil-producing states.
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