Journal of Law, Policy and Globalization www.iiste.org ISSN 2224-3240 (Paper) ISSN 2224-3259 (Online) Vol.32, 2014 138 Joint Development of Offshore Oil and Gas in the Gulf of Guinea: A Case of Energy Security for Nigeria and Cameroon Junaidu Bello Marshall Faculty of Law, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, PMB 2346, Sokoto State, Nigeria Email- jbmarshall82@gmail.com Abstract The paper examines the concept and practice of Joint Development Agreement (JDA) as a modality upon which Nigeria and Cameroon can jointly and efficiently utilise their offshore resources to secure future demands and supply of energy resources in the Gulf of Guinea. Gulf of Guinea is now regarded as one of the world’s most important oil and gas producing region. Exploration and development activities in the region have increased significantly following the discovery of enormous reserves. The paper argues that the conflict between Nigeria and Cameroon was stimulated by the expectation of offshore resources in the area, which finally ended in litigation at International Court of Justice (ICJ). The combined effects of ICJ’s judgement in 2002 and the continuous demands of energy resources by both parties made it possible to consider alternative arrangement. The paper further argues that the concept of JDA is currently utilised in almost all the regions of the world either as an alternative to boundary delimitation or in some instances in addition to maritime boundary. The paper suggests that both States can benefit from the concept considering the oil and gas deposits straddling their delimited maritime boundaries as delimitation is not necessary a panacea to offshore resources conflicts. The paper however relies on primary and secondary sources of data and the analysis is descriptive. It recommends for presence of political will, strong arrangements on sharing of resources and regard to precedents in the region which plays a vital role for any meaningful arrangement. KEYWORDS: Gulf of Guinea, Energy Security, Oil and Gas, Maritime Boundary, Joint Development 1 Introduction The paper examines the concept of JDA as a modality upon which Nigeria and Cameroon can jointly and efficiently utilise their offshore resources in a bid to secure future demands and supply of energy resources in the Gulf of Guinea. It is quite apparent nowadays; society is highly dependent on oil and gas deposits for energy generation and transmission, mobility and transportation, food supply, information and communication, health delivery and countless other services; bringing as a result a particular concern towards the discovery of new oil and gas deposits to ensure energy security. With yet no substantial effort at promoting reliable alternative to oil, the commodity has remained politically volatile and strategic in domestic and global economy and political sphere. 1 In this regard, there is continuous demand for energy resources from offshore as a result of growing concern for limited production from onshore oil reserves, whose production remains for more than two decades at peak 2 . Hence, states around the world have used every effort to ensure more energy resources, a factor which resulted in offshore oil production to become extremely important in the global energy supply 3 . According to United State of America (USA) Geological Survey 2000 Petroleum Assessment, undiscovered offshore oil and gas deposits are estimated at 306 billion barrels of crude oil and 95 billion barrels of natural gas liquid, accounting for 47% of total undiscovered oil in the world. However, Coastal States’ claim for offshore oil and gas deposits in an area of overlapping claims renders it more difficult to settle boundary delimitation and fuels territorial disputes over islands of which waters are said to be in-rich in oil and gas deposits. The continuous claims of continental shelves by the states presented international maritime boundary disputes between states, as well as difficulties in oil and gas deposits development and exploration. These difficulties were as a result of the fact that International Oil Companies (IOCs) are not willing to invest in a disputed area considering the enormous risks involved. In other to accommodate the claims of coastal states over offshore resources resulted in the codification of the provisions relating to Continental Shelf in 1958 at the Geneva Convention on Continental Shelf and United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea 1 F. Allen, ‘Oil and Security in the Gulf of Guinea: Reflections on the External and Domestic Linkages’. (2012) 5 Journals of Sustainable Development 4 132. 2 S.K. KIM, ’The Joint Development of Offshore Energy Resources: Prospects and Issues in East China.’ (2007) available at http:// works.bepress.com/suk-kyoon-kim/5. (Accessed on 15 September, 2012). 3 Ibid 2.