Energy Justice and Petroleum Law: Theorising Equitable Access to Petroleum-Derived Energy in Nigeria’s North East Zone

This study applies energy justice theory to Nigeria's petroleum law and policy framework, examining how existing legal arrangements produce and sustain energy access inequities in the North East geopolitical zone, encompassing Adamawa, Bauchi, Borno, Gombe, Taraba, and Yobe States. The North East, despite its proximity to gas infrastructure and emerging petroleum prospects, records among the lowest electricity and cooking fuel access rates in Nigeria. Drawing on the energy justice conceptual framework developed by Heffron and McCauley, and extending this framework to incorporate legal institutionalism, the research analyses how petroleum licensing law, gas pricing policy, NERC electricity access regulations, and energy poverty data interact to produce differential access outcomes across Nigeria's geopolitical zones. Original empirical data are generated through a household energy access survey of 800 respondents across six North East states and in-depth interviews with twenty energy policy officials and lawyers. The study's theoretical contribution is an original Petroleum Energy Justice Index applied to Nigerian geopolitical zones. The study argues for energy justice impact assessments as a mandatory element of petroleum policy evaluation. Keywords: energy justice, petroleum law, North East Nigeria, energy access, equitable distribution.