A Multi-Level Theory of Project Resilience in the Nigerian Oil and Gas Sector: Individual, Team, and Organisational Dimensions

Project resilience, the capacity to absorb disruptions and adapt to deliver intended outcomes, is theoretically underdeveloped as a multi-level construct in the Nigerian oil and gas sector. This study develops a multi-level theory of project resilience integrating individual, team, and organizational dimensions in Nigerian oil and gas projects. A mixed-methods sequential explanatory design will first survey 300 project managers, team members, and organizational leaders from IOCs and independents across Rivers, Delta, and Bayelsa States using validated resilience scales at each level. Multilevel modeling will establish level-specific resilience predictors. A qualitative phase will conduct 30 in-depth interviews and five case studies of projects that experienced and successfully navigated major disruptions, generating rich theoretical insight. Grounded inductive analysis will refine the multi-level framework. No existing resilience theory integrates all three levels in project contexts, and none have been developed specifically for the Nigerian oil sector where security disruptions, community conflicts, and asset integrity incidents create unique resilience demands. This study generates an original multi-level theoretical contribution. Keywords: project resilience, oil and gas, multi-level theory, Nigeria, organizational resilience