An Examination of the Legal Regime of Environmental Regulation in the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria- The Way Forward to Sustainable Development

Abstract

The paper is set to examine and review the legal framework of the Nigerian oil and gas industry, assessing its efficiency, identifying the major issues and to make recommendations on the way forward in the environmental regulation of incidences of oil spills and gas flaring. Essentially the paper established that the environmental policies and strategies of the Nigerian oil and gas industry have impacted positively on the Nigerian environment for some years but with a rather slow effect. It is identified that there are many factors affecting the effectiveness of the existing laws and the functioning of the agencies, some of which are lack of funding, lack of human resources, corruption, insufficient data and the influence of Multi-National Corporations. The prospect of environmental policies in Nigeria some consider to be evolving while some believe it is ineffective. The paper investigates the problems of compliance to these regulations established by the government which eventually accentuated the rate of environmental oil pollution and gas flaring in the region. It contends that the problems in the Niger Delta could be linked to the ineffective and unimplemented oil and gas regulations meant to ensure a clean, safe, preservation of and habitable environment in the oil producing communities. It further suggests that Nigeria must exhibit the political will to enforce these laws and must think of expanding its associated gas market by increasing domestic utilization of associated gas and taking advantage of the increase in the global demand for energy.