Since the news about first oil in Aje field, offshore Lagos have reached the wires, not a few Lagosians have openly rejoiced in their new status as an oil producing state. Forget that tripe about becoming a non-oil economy, most people I know want some oil to be found in their backyard. Credit goes to the Lagos government who has moved swiftly, earning early the rights to rents from Aje field from the Revenue Mobilisation and Fiscal Commission. But here is some good and bad news. Much oil and gas has been found and more would be found in the nearest future but Lagos would never benefit from it. Sadly.

I will tell you why.

Before February 2004, the onshore-offshore dichotomy and the 13% derivation principle were the basis for sharing oil wealth in Nigeria amongst the states and federal government. The onshore offshore dichotomy model was derived from the Exclusive Economic Zone Decree (1978) while Sani Abacha’s (yes, the much maligned Sani Abacha) 1995 constitutional conference prescribed and adopted the 13% derivation. With the onshore-offshore dichotomy, littoral states only earned their derivation entitlements from oil revenues found onshore and within their coastal baseline. When democracy returned, the governments of the Niger Delta states started agitating for the abolition of the onshore-offshore dichotomy and demanded access to resources offshore of their states.

In the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) which Nigeria has ratified and abides with (the USA is not a signatory yet, but that’s for another day) the following maritime zones are recognised:

(i) the 12 nautical mile (22 km) Territorial Sea (TS)

(ii) the additional 24 nautical mile (67 km) Contiguous Zone CZ (according to Article 33 of UNCLOS) making 36 nautical miles beyond the baseline;

(iii) the 200 nautical mile (370km) Exclusive Economic Zone EEZ from the baseline [according to Article 57 of UNCLOS]; this makes the territorial sea AND the Contiguous Zone PART of the EEZ, with an additional 176 nautical miles beyond the Contiguous Zone;

http://nairametrics.com/sorry-lagos-you-dont-have-oil/

Cc lalasticlala