The Nation: Oil and Gas Operations - Rights and Obligations

The world over, natural resources are a gift of nature.  As nature’s priceless gift to man and because nature’s endowment of these resources is without reference to people or nation, the subject of ownership and control is one that has generated a great deal of passion and controversy amongst people and nations.

Unfortunately, these resources have been identified as playing key roles in triggering conflicts, and, all through history, the struggle for possession and control of natural resources has been the remote, if not the immediate, cause of great wars and human tragedies. The significance of land as a natural resource to man cannot be overstressed. Land, though representing only about one-third of the earth’s surface, provides a platform on which man’s activities ranging from shelter, food, industrial activities and movement are carried out.

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The promulgation of the Petroleum Act of 1969 marked a watershed in the history of petroleum legislation in Nigeria. Its significance is that, among other things, it stipulated for the first time that the entire ownership and control of all petroleum in Nigeria is vested in the Federal Government of Nigeria. It also revised all the terms and conditions under which pre-1969 concessions were granted to Oil Companies. The Petroleum Act and its regulations remain the primary law regulating oil and gas exploratory activities in Nigeria.

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