EXHIBIT 5.1











                                                              September 25, 1997


Board of Directors
American International Petroleum Corporation
444 Madison Avenue, Suite 3203
New York, New York 10022

         Re:      Registration Statement on Form S-3 Relating to:
                  (1) 5,957,347 Shares of Common Stock issuable upon exercise of
                      5,957,347 outstanding Class A Warrants;
                  (2) 1,478,347 Shares of Common Stock outstanding and issuable
                      upon the exercise of certain warrants;
                  (3) 193,400 Class A Warrants issuable upon the exercise
                      of certain warrants and the 193,400 Common Stock
                      issuable upon exercise of such Common Stock.
                  The outstanding Common Stock is referred to as the Shares; the
                  Common Stock issuable pursuant to outstanding, and to be
                  issued, Class A Warrants and other warrants is referred to as
                  the Issuable Shares; and the 193,400 Class A Warrants issuable
                  pursuant to a certain underwriters warrant are referred to as
                  the Issuable Warrants.

Ladies and Gentlemen:

         We are acting as 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 Shares, the
Issuable Shares and the Issuable Warrants.

         We have examined and are familiar with originals or copies, certified
or otherwise identified to our satisfaction, of the Certificate of Incorporation
and By-Laws of the Company, as each is currently in effect, the Registration
Statement, the related Prospectus, the corporate proceedings in






connection with the issuance and registration of the Shares and such other
corporate proceedings, documents and records and other certificates, and we have
made such investigations of law, as we have deemed necessary or appropriate in
order to render the opinions hereinafter set forth.

         In our examination, we have assumed the genuineness of all signatures,
the legal capacity of all natural persons, the authenticity of all documents
submitted to us as originals, the conformity to original documents of all of the
originals of such latter documents. As to any facts material to the opinions
expressed herein which were not independently established or verified, we have
relied upon statements and representations of officers and other representatives
of the Company and others.

         Based upon and subject to the foregoing, we are of the opinion that all
of the Shares have been duly and validly authorized, issued and are fully paid
and non-assessable; the Issuable Shares, when delivered and upon payment of the
exercise price provided for in the warrants relative to such Issuable Shares,
will be duly and validly authorized, issued, fully paid and non-assessable and
that the Issuable Warrants are duly and validly authorized, issued and when
delivered and upon payment of the exercise price provided for in the warrants
relative to such Issuable Warrants, will be enforceable in accordance with the
terms thereof.

         We hereby consent to the filing of this opinion as an exhibit to the
Registration Statement and to the reference to this firm under the heading
"Legal Matters" in the Prospectus accompanying the Registration Statement for
resale of the Shares by certain selling shareholders. In giving this consent, we
do not hereby admit that we are within the category of persons whose consent is
required under Section 7 of the Securities Act or the rules and regulations of
the Securities and Exchange Commission thereunder.


                                                  Very truly yours,

                                                  SNOW BECKER KRAUSS P.C.



                                                  By: /s/Charles Snow
                                                         Charles Snow