Exhibit 5.1

                             SNOW BECKER KRAUSS P.C.
                                605 Third Avenue
                               New York, NY 10158
                              Phone: (212) 687-3860
                               Fax: (212) 949-7052

                                                                  August 3, 2000

American International Petroleum Corporation
2950 North Loop West, Suite 100
Houston, Texas  77092

Ladies and Gentlemen:

We are  counsel  to  American  International  Petroleum  Corporation,  a  Nevada
corporation (the  "Company"),  in connection with the filing by the Company with
the Securities and Exchange  Commission  pursuant to the Securities Act of 1933,
as amended (the "Securities Act"), of a registration  statement on Form S-3 (the
"Registration Statement") relating to the offer and sale of 30,800,000 shares of
the  Company's  common  stock  by  the  selling  securityholders  named  in  the
Registration Statement, including

     o    30,000,000 shares (the "Conversion Shares") that they may acquire upon
          conversion of the Company's series A convertible preferred stock.

     o    800,000  shares (the  "Warrant  Shares")  that they may  acquire  upon
          exercise of warrants.

We have examined such records and documents and made such examinations of law as
we have  deemed  relevant  in  connection  with  this  opinion.  Based  upon the
foregoing, it is our opinion that:

     1.   The Company has been duly organized,  is validly  existing and in good
          standing under the laws of the State of Nevada

     2.   The   Conversion   Shares  and  the  Warrant  Shares  have  been  duly
          authorized.

     3.   The  Conversion  Shares,  when issued upon  conversion of the series A
          convertible  preferred  stock  in  accordance  with  the  terms of the
          certificate  of  designations  filed  with the  Secretary  of State of
          Nevada, will be legally issued, fully paid and non assessable.

     4.   The Warrant Shares, when issued upon payment of the exercise price and
          other terms specified in the warrants,  will be legally issued,  fully
          paid and nonassessable.

Members of our firm own 144,518 shares of Common Stock.

We  hereby  consent  to  the  filing  of  this  opinion  as an  exhibit  to  the
Registration  Statement and to the reference to our firm under the caption Legal
Matters in the Registration  Statement. In so doing, we do not admit that we are
in the category of persons whose consent is required  under Section 7 of the Act
or  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  Securities  and  Exchange  Commission
promulgated thereunder.

                                                     Very truly yours,

                                                     /s/ Snow Becker Krauss P.C.
                                                     ---------------------------
                                                     SNOW BECKER KRAUSS P.C.