Abandonment/Decommissioning under Nigerian Legal Regimes: a Comparative Analysis

This article in its introductory part will be devoted to conceptual clarifications of decommissioning and abandonment and (differences, if any). Part two, is the critical analysis of legislations on decommissioning in Nigeria. Part three is also a critical analysis on legal regimes and practices on decommissioning in other jurisdictions such as USA, UK, South Africa. Part Four is a comparative analysis of legislations and decommissioning practices in Nigeria and another jurisdiction. Part Five Consists of findings/observations made during the research. In the end, recommendations and conclusions are drawn, part of which is a call for proactive actions by megacorporation and the Nigerian government in the sphere of timeous decommissioning of obsolete and failed platforms, enactment and, or, review of obsolete legislations regulating decommissioning as well as fulfillment of obligations under multi-lateral environmental treaties that regulate decommissioning and sustainable environmental management and protection. A comprehensive legal framework on decommissioning is urgently required to be enacted to detonate the time bomb on which the region is still sitting due to the fact that the 170 platforms are nearing their useful lifetime.