Legal Gaps in Nigeria’s Environmental Impact Assessment Act: Implications for Petroleum Project Approvals

This study analytically examines gaps in Nigeria's Environmental Impact Assessment Act 1992 as it applies to petroleum project approvals, assessing whether the Act remains fit for purpose in the context of the expanded upstream and midstream activities contemplated under the PIA 2021. The EIA Act is the primary instrument requiring pre-project environmental assessment in Nigeria, but its design reflects the less complex regulatory environment of three decades ago. Using a doctrinal analytical methodology, the research critically reviews all 60 sections of the EIA Act against international EIA best practice standards from the International Association for Impact Assessment, comparative EIA frameworks from South Africa and Canada, and federal court decisions on EIA challenges in petroleum cases from 2015 to 2024. Findings identify key gaps including the absence of strategic environmental assessment requirements, inadequate cumulative impact provisions, weak post-project monitoring obligations, and lack of provisions for climate impact assessment. The study recommends a comprehensive legislative review of the EIA Act to produce a modernised Environmental Assessment Act that incorporates these dimensions. Keywords: EIA Act, petroleum project approvals, legal gaps, environmental assessment, Nigeria.