Legal Issues arising from the Termination of Oil Prospecting Licenses by the Nigerian Government

Abstract

When it came to power in 1999, the present Nigerian Government cancelled several contracts, including oil prospecting licences, that had been set up by the previous military regime. This article assesses the policy implications of the cancellation of the contracts in terms of the country's ability to attract foreign investment and discusses recent attempts to encourage foreign investment in Nigeria. The article goes on to examine the legal nature of petroleum prospecting licences and argues for the contractual element to take precedence over the administrative element under the current liberal investment climate.