Assessing the Attractiveness and Progressiveness of the Fiscal Framework in the 2021 Nigeria Petroleum Industry Act Under a Zero - Carbon Emission Strategy

Abstract The global trend for cleaner energy and zero emission has made the need for frameworks that support reduced to zero carbon emission necessary. This is in a bid to make zero-carbon emission a success. Laws and frameworks that encourage the strategy for zero emission should be introduced. The Nigerian Petroleum Industry has been on a journey of continuous review of its petroleum fiscal frameworks that existed as the petroleum industry bill between 2009-2020, until the final passage of the bill into an Act in 2021. The zero emission strategy would be a success in Nigeria if the fiscal frameworks favor the exploitation and production of natural gas resources rather than crude oil; this is because natural gas produces cleaner emissions than crude oil. This means that fiscal frameworks that encourage investments in the natural gas upstream, midstream and downstream sectors should be formulated and enacted. This paper reviews the Petroleum Industry Act 2021, its attractiveness to investors in the natural gas sector and it's progressiveness towards the needed change in the oil and gas industry towards zero-carbon emissions. It looks at the provisions of the Act and how it encourages investors in the natural gas sector. It is recommended that fiscal frameworks for oil and gas sector should be progressive to accommodate modifications in the sector and should encourage zero-carbon emission in this new era.