Nigeria is a net exporter of oil, it generates a large revenue from exporting crude oil. In 2016 the global price of oil got to its lowest at the price of $27.67 and the economy of Nigeria was shaken in a great deal, thankfully the price is $62 as of today. But what if the price of oil falls again? Are we going to be hit again?
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Renewable energy technologies have developed hugely over the years. Most developed countries have promised to increase the share of renewable energy in their energy mix in the near future. Also, electric vehicles are going to be the in thing in years to come. What does this mean? I think it is obvious- the demand for oil would reduce.
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What is then the way forward for Nigeria that gets its greatest revenue from oil? Many people have posed the solution of diversification in other sectors like agriculture, tourism and so on which would be a good development and might be the only way out.
But what would happen to our oil reserves when no one wants our oil anymore? In my own opinion, the Nigerian government can focus on refining its crude for local consumption, and export to other developing countries that will still need petroleum products largely. I think the adoption of EVs in most developing countries would experience a lag as it would not be as fast as they would spring up in developed countries, so they would still largely rely on internal combustion vehicles , and would require petroleum products to run the vehicles.
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In conclusion, if Nigeria still relies on exporting crude oil rather than refining for local consumption and export to other African countries that don't have oil, and diversifying the economy, the emergence of RETs and EVs might destabilize the economy of the country drastically.