REVIEW OF THE APPLICATION OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ACT IN THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY IN NIGERIA.

1 his research is aimed al appraising the application of Environmental Impact Assessment Act (idA) in the Oil Industry in Nigeria. The research critically examined the enforcement of EIA in ihc Oil and Gas Industry as well as issues and challenges that militate against effective compliance and implementation of EIA in Nigeria. Exploration and production activities in the Oil and Gas Industry in Nigeria was carried out, from inception, without taking into cognizance ll'.o environmental impact of such projects. This resulted in the continuous degradation of the environment through Oil spill, Gas flaring etc. thereby affecting both human and aquatic life. Consequently. Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was introduced in Nigeria. EIA was needed before any project likely to have environmental impact can proceed with a view to militating the impacts such projects would have on the environment, especially those of the Oil and Gas industry. As a result, Environmental Impact Assessment Act was enacted in 1992. In achieving the purpose of this research, the work deals on the history, environmental impact, consequences and the legal framework of Oil and Gas pollution in Nigeria. It further expatiates on the concept of EIA thereby bringing out its internationalized municipal legal framework. The institutional and regulatory framework of EIA in Nigeria with specific reference to the role of the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME) is also dealt with. The work concludes by looking at the challenges in the implementation of the EIA Act in Nigeria to include lack of enforcement of laws by Ihc relevant agencies, absence of reliable baseline data against which impact of a project can be weighed, lack of meaningful public participation in the EIA process and multiplicity of regulalory bodies with identical roles. This work proffered recommendations for an effective EIA process in Nigeria to be achieved especially in the Oil and Gas industry to include harmonization of the regulatory bodies responsible for the conduct of EIA, encouragement of public participation in the EIA process,existence of political will on the part of government, vigorous * enforcement of environmental law sand having one acceptable baseline data.