The International Law Dimensions of Nigeria’s Petroleum Policy: Compliance with UNCLOS in the Gulf of Guinea

This study analytically examines Nigeria's compliance with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) in managing its petroleum resources in the Gulf of Guinea, focusing on maritime boundary delimitation, Exclusive Economic Zone rights, and continental shelf entitlements. As a major coastal state in the Gulf of Guinea, Nigeria's petroleum governance obligations extend significantly beyond its shores, with implications for relations with neighbouring Benin, Cameroon, and Equatorial Guinea. Using a doctrinal international law methodology, the research analyses Nigeria's UNCLOS ratification record, maritime boundary treaties, offshore petroleum block coordinates, and ICJ and ITLOS decisions involving Gulf of Guinea states from 2015 to 2024. Compliance gaps in Nigeria's continental shelf submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf (CLCS) are examined in depth. Findings indicate that Nigeria has yet to fully exercise its potential continental shelf entitlements and that boundary disputes with Cameroon and Benin continue to cloud title to certain offshore petroleum blocks. The study recommends a comprehensive national maritime strategy with a legal task force for continental shelf submissions. Keywords: UNCLOS, Gulf of Guinea, maritime boundary, petroleum policy, Nigeria.