Corporate Social Responsibility (IVOR nr. 77) 2010/9.2.5:9.2.5 Nigerian law - oil and the environment

Corporate Social Responsibility (IVOR nr. 77) 2010/9.2.5

9.2.5 Nigerian law - oil and the environment

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The question, 'in which way and under which conditions is oil exploration allowed and can extraction from Nigerian soil take place' must be answered first and foremost in accordance with Nigerian law. There are various sources: (1) contemporary English law, comprising common law, doctrines and statutes of general or specific application and English law made before 1960 and extending to Nigeria; (2) Nigerian legislation, which consists of the Constitution, ordinances, acts, laws, decrees and edicts; (3) customary law in existence in all the various rural communities of Nigeria (originating from social/moral rules, now accepted as 'jural postulates'. In Nigerian legal jurisprudence, customary law is the organic living law of the Indigenous People of Nigeria, regulating their lives and transactions); and (4) Nigerian case law.1

Since the sixties, Nigerian law provides for detailed environmental law regulations resulting in the requirement that anyone exploring or extracting oil needs a permit subject to environmental protection requirements. The environmental laws are not to be found in any one volume; relevant acts and regulations are, for instance:2

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Petroleum Act 1969;

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Petroleum (Drilling and Production) Regulations 1969;3

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Associated Gas Re-Injection Act (1979);4

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Oil in Navigable Waters Decree No. 34 (1968);5

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Federal Environmental Protection Agency Decree (1988);6

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Harmful Waste (Special Criminal Provisions, etc.) Decree (1988);7

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Environmental Impact Assessment Decree No. 86 (1995);

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Oil Pipeline Act 1956;

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Oil & Gas Pipelines Registration;

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Agricultural Act, LFN 1990;8 and

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Customary rules regulating the protection of the environment as a whole, e.g. forests, wildlife and soil.9

Nigerian law allows for claims regarding land use, including tort claims. Traditional rules of tort apply to the trespassing of land, nuisances and negligence. Damages caused by oil pollution are also addressed under criminal law.10

Although the Nigerian laws provide clear guidance for oil production in regard to the environment and lives of people, Nigerian authors often point out that the Government's policy to own approximately 60 per cent of the equity shares in the operational oil companies leads to a practice in which the focus is often more on profit maximisation than on taking the necessary measures against environmental degradation. They state that the overall governmental policy is that the oil trade should not be jeopardised. Finally, penalties under Nigerian law are unsubstantial and, hence, do not provide a substantial deterrent effect against oil spills.11

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