Emeka Ezekwesiri, Favour Ogini, and Iyanuoluwa Adeyemo, undertake a review of the Electricity Act 2023, its objectives, content and potential impact on the power regulatory landscape in Nigeria, in their article, A Review of the Electricity Act, 2023 – Impact and Major Issues Arising. The Act provides a holistic integrated policy plan that recognizes and promotes all sources for the generation, transmission, and distribution of electricity, including the integration of renewable energy into Nigeria’s energy mix. The Act repealed the Electric Power Sector Reform Act (the “EPSRA”), the erstwhile principal legislation of the Nigerian electric power sector since 2005. The Act also recognizes the electric sector law making powers of federating states and identifies the border line distinction between electricity supply and distribution. Ezekwesiri et al provide an analysis of the Act and examines in detail the major changes introduced by the Act to the electric power sector viz-a-viz the EPSRA with particular focus on its significance and impact in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry.

Dr Olusola Olujobi of the Business Management Department Covenant University Ota Nigeria in his article, Nigeria’s Upstream Petroleum Industry’s Contracts: The Hurdles and the Legal Stopgaps, explores the relevance of renegotiation and stabilisation clauses in the Nigerian petroleum industry’s contracts due to the various inconsistencies in domestic laws to combat inefficiencies in the sector. The overbearing presence of the Federal Government in the oil and gas sector and inappropriate pricing of petroleum products have made the sector unattractive to investors due to excessive regulation. Indiscriminate annulment of oil contracts is contrary to the government’s drive to attract investments and the need for contractual security in Nigeria’s petroleum industry. Dr Olujobi advocates the need for speedy passage of the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill 2017 and for institutional and regulatory reforms to promote healthy competition.

Jerome Okoro and Dr. Peter Obutte, of the Centre for Petroleum, Energy Economics and Law, University of Ibadan in their article, “Developing Nigerian Oil and Gas Marginal Fields through Government Participation”, define what qualifies as a marginal field and note that the 1996 amendment to the Petroleum Act provides for farming out of marginal oil fields within Oil Mining Lease areas to indigenous companies. A major goal of the law was to bring the marginal fields into production, and increase Nigeria’s daily oil and gas output and the reserve base through them. Though the Guidelines for Farm-out of Marginal Fields creates a right of active participation in marginal field operations for the government, the Nigerian government so far has not invested into any of the marginal fields Okoro and Obutte undertake a review of the Nigerian marginal field development program, the legal basis of regulatory role of government, structure of Nigerian petroleum operations and expected reforms under the Petroleum Industry Governance Bill, 2017.

It is not just another scare: Victor Onyenkpa and Tozaye Balogun, Partner and Senior Consultant respectively, KPMG Advisory Services, with facts and figures, examine the dire consequences of the development of Shale Oil on Nigeria’s economy. Their article, “Implications of Shale Oil Development and Alternative Sources of Energy on Nigeria’s Economy” however proffers a way out.