Oil and Gas

This is the area of law that governs oil and gas production. Oil and gas laws determine who owns the right to mine for oil and gas. It determines what conditions miners have to follow when they harvest oil and gas.

The Nigerian petroleum industry established since the first significant crude oil find at Oloibiri in the Niger Delta in 1956 has steadily grown to be one of the largest oil and gas producer in Africa. Although Nigeria is widely known for its crude oil production, it is often referred to as a gas province with pockets of oil. This is evidenced by the fact that Nigeria’s current recoverable oil reserves are estimated at 28.5 billion barrels, with an average of about 2.5 million barrels per day being extracted, while its associated and non-associated gas reserves are estimated to exceed 166 trillion standard cubic feet (tcf).