Section 232: Abandonment, decommissioning and disposal.

1 The decommissioning and abandonment of petroleum wells, installations, structures, utilities, plants and pipelines for petroleum operations on land and offshore shall be conducted in accordance with -
a good international petroleum industiy practice; and
b guidelines issued by the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, provided that the guidelines shall meet the standards prescribed by the international maritime organisation on offshore petroleum installations and structures.

2 A decommissioning and abandonment shall not take place without the written approval of the Commission or Authority, as the case may be.

3 The Commission or Authority, as the case may be, shall by written notice, require a lessee, licensee or permit holder to commence the decommissioning and abandonment of a well, installation, structure, utility and pipeline, where such decommissioning and abandonment is required under good international petroleum industry practices or the guidelines.

4 In production sharing contracts or any other contractual arrangement under section
85 of this Act responsibilities and liabilities relating to decommissioning and abandonment as specified in this section and section 233 of this Act shall apply to the licensee or lessee as contractor.

5 A licensee or lessee may by written notice inform the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, of its intention to decommission or abandon.

6 Upon a notice in subsection (5), the lessee or licensee, shall prior to any decommissioning and abandonment, submit to the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, a programme setting out -
a estimate of the cost of the proposed measures;
b details of measures proposed to be taken in connection with the shutdown of operations and decommissioning and abandonment of disused installations, structures or other assets used in petroleum operations as the case may be;
c clear descriptions of the methods to be employed to undertake the work programme, which shall be in line with good international petroleum industry practices and environmental development;
d steps to be taken to ensure maintenance and safeguard, where any installation, structure or pipeline remained disused and in position or are to be partly removed with respect to deep and
ultra-deep water environment and where the installation, structure or pipeline is partly removed, the licensee or lessee shall remain liable for any residual liability arising from the installation, structure or pipeline not removed; and
e assessment of the environmental and social impact of the decommissioning and abandonment measures.

7 Installations and structures on land shall be completely removed and the environment restored to its original condition, except for buried transportation pipelines and gathering lines.

8 Except for the abandonment of wells, upon the submission of a decommissioning and abandonment programme by the licensee or lessee to the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, consultations shall be made with interested parties and other relevant public authorities and bodies.

9 The programme referred to in subsection (6) shall not be approved unless relevant environmental, technical and commercial regulations or standards are complied with.

10 Prior to the approval of an application or programme for decommissioning and abandonment, the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, shall ensure that -
a considerations and recommendations are taken in the light of individual circumstances;
b the potential for reuse of a transportation pipeline together with other existing facility in connection with further hydrocarbon developments is considered before decommissioning;
c all feasible decommissioning options have been considered and a comparative assessment made;
d any removal or partial removal of an installation, structure or transportation pipeline is to be performed in a manner that guarantees sustainable environmental development; and
e any recommendation to leave an installation, structure or gathering line in place is made with regard to its likely deterioration and to the present, possible and future effects on the environment and in the case of offshore installations and structures, consistent with the applicable good international petroleum industry practices.

11 The Commission or Authority, as the case may be, shall enforce compliance by any holder of a current licence or lease or a holder of an expired licence or lease who was responsible for the applicable decommissioning and abandonment plan with respect to a licence or lease that has expired, to carry out its remaining or unfulfilled decommissioning and abandonment obligations under this Act.

12 In archiving and maintaining the database of installations, structures and assets set out in subsection (14) the Commission or Authority, as the case may be, shall prescribe the manner and method in which the data shall be submitted by operators.

13 The Commission or Authority, as the case may be, may recall a licensee or lessee responsible for a decommissioning and abandonment programme with respect to a licence or lease that has expired or is surrendered or a licensee or lessee that has transferred or divested its interest or equity, to carry out an obligation under this Act, provided however that, where a new company has assumed all respective obligations, with the approval of the Commission or Authority, upon the transfer or divestiture, the licensee or lessee shall have no further responsibilities.

14 The Commission or Authority, as the case may be, shall ensure that a list of the installations, structures and pipelines on land and offshore in Nigeria used for petroleum operations and their current status is compiled and made available or accessible to the public annually.