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Regulating the Activities of Oil Multinationals in Nigeria: A Case for Self-Regulation?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2015

Abstract

The activities of oil multinational corporations (MNCs) in Nigeria, especially in the oil and gas sector, have come under focus in recent years. The BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in the USA highlighted the negative or unintended consequences of the activities of MNCs. Also, oil MNCs in Nigeria have been at the centre of scandals about poor labour standards, environmental degradation and human rights violations amongst others. Furthermore, the extant state-oriented or command and control regulatory regime has been ineffective. Thus, self-regulation by oil MNCs has risen to help counter these negative consequences. This article contends that the self-regulatory regime is ineffective and advocates for reforms to remedy it.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © SOAS, University of London 2015 

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131 Ibid.

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133 Ibid.

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135 Oshionebo Regulating Transnational Corporations, above at note 69 at 84.

136 Total “Society and environment report”, above at note 100 at 30.

137 Ibid.

138 Ibid.

139 Oshionebo Regulating Transnational Corporations, above at note 69 at 70.

140 Ibid.

141 Adeyeye “Corporate responsibility”, above at note 1 at 147.

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157 Ibid.

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163 Ibid.

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166 Ibid.

167 Forstater et al “Corporate responsibility”, above at note 130 at 27.

168 Ibid.

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173 Ibid.

174 Ibid.

175 World Bank and Extractive Industries “Striking a better balance: The final report of the extractive review” (December 2003) at 60, also cited in Ejims “The impact of Nigerian international petroleum”, above at note 171 at 372.

176 Bregman, E and Jacobson, AEnvironmental performance review: Self-regulation in environmental law” (1994) 16 Cardozo Law Review 465Google Scholar, cited in Oshionebo Transnational Corporations, above at note 111 at 111.

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180 Ekhator “Improving access to environmental justice”, above at note 121 at 76–77.

181 Oshionebo Transnational Corporations, above at note 111 at 111.

182 Braithwaite, JEnforced self-regulation: A new strategy for corporate crime” (1982) 80/7Michigan Law Review 1466CrossRefGoogle Scholar at 1470.