An Analysis of the Legal and Institutional Framework for Oil Rights Acquisition in Nigeria

Abstract

This paper evaluates the legal and institutional framework for the acquisition of oil rights in Nigeria, with a specific focus on the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021. The research analysed the statutory provisions, institutional structures, and procedural mechanisms introduced under PIA. The aim was to evaluate the effectiveness of the current regime in addressing longstanding challenges within Nigeria’s petroleum sector, identify gaps or ambiguities in its implementation, and propose reforms to enhance efficiency and transparency. The findings revealed that while PIA represents a significant step toward an equitable regime for oil rights acquisition, particularly through the establishment of robust regulatory institutions, including the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), Ministry of Petroleum Resources, Nigerian Content Development as well as Monitoring Board, etc., several challenges persist, including legal ambiguities in certain provisions, bureaucratic inefficiencies, and institutional capacity limitation, injustice and lack of transparency hampers the PIA's successful implementation. To this end, the study recommended a series of reforms to address these challenges. These include clarifying conflicting legal provisions, strengthening institutional capacities through funding and training, streamlining administrative processes to reduce delays, and enhancing transparency through digitization and stakeholder engagement. Furthermore, fostering synergy between the PIA and other relevant laws is essential to avoid regulatory conflicts.