The deployment of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the oil and gas industry raises profound ethical questions, particularly in jurisdictions such as Nigeria where regulatory enforcement, spill response, and data transparency remain persistent challenges. AI technologies hold clear potential: advanced monitoring systems can enhance early detection of oil spills; natural language models can improve the consistency of compliance reporting; and automated auditing tools can address chronic under-reporting of environmental incidents. Yet, these opportunities are tempered by ethical risks, including algorithmic bias, unequal access to technological capacity, and the reliability of data in environments where record-keeping is fragmented or politicized. This paper evaluates the dual role of AI as both a solution to systemic governance failures and a source of new ethical dilemmas.
