An Unconventional Clarion Call for a New Energy Order: Is Covid-19 a Blessing for the Nigerian Energy Sector?

Abstract

The year 2020 commenced with the global spread of Coronavirus and COVID-19 disease from China to other parts of the world. It was declared a pandemic on May 11, 2020 with recorded cases in all continents except Antarctica. Nigeria recorded its first case of the virus on February 27, 2020 and it has been on a download slope from then on, with over 8,000 cases as at May 27, 2020. Without a doubt, the pandemic has had a number of effects on Nigerian. The national economy, financial and employment status of most citizens hang in uncertainty, health conditions have become a daily concern; amongst other issues plaguing the country in the face of the pandemic. The disruptions and uncertainties that occurred as a result of the pandemic was a hit to economies of the world. The challenges posed by the virus have expectedly thrown the global economy into a recession, the magnitude and duration of which the world is trying to decipher. The economic effects of the global crisis have been felt in different aspects of the economy, including reduced trade, financial flows, tourism and declining prices of oil, gas and other commodities. This paper will review the state of Nigeria's economy and the petroleum industry before Covid-19, the immediate and long-term impact of coronavirus pandemic on the economy and the petroleum industry, the legislative and executive actions consequent upon the pandemic. The paper will also determine whether the pandemic is a wakeup call to diversify the nation's energy mix and begin an energy transition to a new energy order to improve the economy and achieve decarbonisation in Nigeria.