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.