Complexities and Sustainability of Joint Development of Maritime Oil and Gas Resources : A Case Study of Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe Treaty

There is no generic definition of joint venture in law. However, Black's Law Dictionary defines joint venture as a: “Business undertaking by two or more persons engaged in a single defined project. The necessary elements are: An express or implied agreement; a common purpose that the group intends to carry out; Shared profits and losses; and each member's equal voice in controlling the project.” In the crude oil business sector, joint venture is a major vehicle for propelling of most of the related undertakings. In the past few years, joint development agreements (JDA) and treaties have become an integral aspect of joint ventures within the oil and gas industrial sectors across the world. It is against these developing trends that this article seeks to explore the complexity of the sustainability of the joint petroleum development agreement of Nigeria and Sao Tome and Principe. The article suggests that, the benefits of JDAs far outweighs the disadvantages however, there are few problems associated with JDA that has largely been neglected. The continuance overlooking of the identified problems are likely to adversely hamper the sustainability of JDA in the oil and gas sector especially, that of Nigeria and Sao Tome and the Principe