Abstract
Petroleum licensing is a potential regulatory instrument that establishes contractual relationships between the nations endowed with immensely economically viable petroleum resources and companies; that is, international oil companies (IOCs) and local or indigenous contractors as allowed under the law. One of the fundamental essences of petroleum licenses and leases is to grant permission authorizing exploratory activities which would be illegal otherwise. The paper examines the licensing regimes in Nigerian petroleum industry with emphasis on the post-colonial and current regime of petroleum licensing introduced by the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, in other to proffer ideas that will enable the enhancement of the operation in the Nigerian petroleum industry and towards the attainment of a more robust petroleum activities. The paper appraises key issues on the efficacy, success and challenges of the previous regimes as well as commenting on the robust legislative innovations introduced by the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021, intended to address the weakness of the licensing regime and acreage management under the predecessor legislation; the Petroleum Act, 1969. The paper also made references to seminal provisions relevant to the subject matters under discuss in local and international legal framework as well as relevant institutional frameworks with the ultimate end of addressing observed weaknesses and lacuna in the legal frameworks and proffer solution so as to enable the attraction of foreign investors and robust participation of local investors in the petroleum industry and increasing government revenue for the overall interest of the Nigerian people. The paper adopts a dotrinal approach, describing, analyzing and considering the legal basis as well as the petroleum industry peculiarities. The paper also adopts doctrinal research methodology, that is, the use of statutes, international conventions and books, articles in journals, internet sources and case laws. The paper concludes that the Nigerian Petroleum industry can attain robust improvement that can satisfy its commercial objectives and the domestic supply obligations by fully adopting an enhanced – transparent contractual regime in the industry and strict compliance and enforcement of all legal and regulatory provisions to allow and promote confidence of the potential investors in the Nigerian Petroleum Industry.
Onuekwa Fortune Chinumezi
pp. 17 – 33
