Decommissioning and Abandonment: Nigeria's Experience in a Global Context

A significant introduction in the Petroleum Industry Act, 2021 (the “PIA”) is the introduction of decommissioning and abandonment provisions into the Nigerian oil and gas regime. Prior to the PIA, there was no regulatory regime specifically governing decommissioning and abandonment in Nigeria. For proper implementation of the provisions and to establish clear-cut procedures, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (the “NUPRC”) and the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (the “NMDPRA”) (the “Regulatory Bodies”) have enacted the Decommissioning and Abandonment Regulations for the upstream and downstream sector respectively. <br><br>The Decommissioning and Abandonment rules are aimed at providing a significant contribution to protecting the environment and host communities, post-exploration and exploitation activities on oil and gas fields.<br> <br>This article provides a detailed analysis of decommissioning and abandonment, particularly under the PIA regime, and considers the possible impacts of the rules. This article also explicates on the decommissioning and abandonment regime in certain jurisdictions, with particular focus on what the Nigerian decommissioning and abandonment regime can benefit from them. Finally, the article considers possible challenges to the effective implementation of the decommissioning and abandonment rules and proffers recommendations to challenges that may arise.