Assessing The Impact Of International And Regional Legal Frameworks On Petroleum Assets Decommissioning Legislation In Nigeria

Abstract

The increasing global efforts at enhancing sustainable energy and best oilfield
practices in the petroleum sector have made decommissioning of petroleum assets
a subject of constant environmental and legal deliberations at international,
regional and national forums. In Nigeria, the legal framework for decommissioning
is developing and partly shaped by worldwide and regional regimes that stipulate
vital guidelines and standards for ecological preservation, obligations and industry
best practices. The article, which adopts a doctrinal research methodology,
investigates the scope to which international framework, like the 1958 Geneva
Convention, United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), the
OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the NorthEast Atlantic (OSPAR Convention), the International Maritime Organisation
(IMO) guidelines, in addition to African regional framework, such as the Abidjan
Convention and its protocol, etc have influenced Nigeria’s municipal
decommissioning laws. The article examines pre-2021 decommissioning laws and
the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021 plus its incidental regulations, with a view
to ascertaining how international decommissioning obligations are mirrored in the
national laws and guidelines. The article also evaluates some of the challenges
confronting Nigeria’s effective implementation of these laws, including legal
uncertainties, enforcement constraints, and fiscal obligations for decommissioning
expenses. The findings of the research disclosed that although evidently, global and
regional instruments have a bearing on local decommissioning laws, yet
considerable gaps still exist in aligning Nigerian legislation with the requisite global
prospects. Thus, the article recommends that the identified constraints should be
addressed in order to ensure that decommissioning operations in Nigeria are
consistent with excellent global petroleum industry practice.