Nigeria, other African oil-exporting countries to lose $34bn revenue to COVID-19 –IMF

The economic shocks of the coronavirus pandemic through lockdowns and eternal vulnerabilities might trigger income loss of around $34 billion in Nigeria and other oil-exporting countries in Africa, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday.

Abebe Aemro Selassie, Director of the African Department at the IMF, stated in his remarks at the IEA Ministerial Roundtable on COVID-19 Impact on Africa’s Energy Sector that the effects of the coronavirus crisis would be particularly weighty on African oil producers among other economies on the continent on the per capita growth basis.

The IMF’s projection put average Gross Domestic Product growth per capita of the whole continent at -49.9 per cent and that of oil exporters at -7.4 per cent.

It observed that the pandemic had put enormous strain on government budgets, causing around one quarter loss to the continent’s revenue and more than one third to African oil exporters.

Read also: Nigeria, other African countries face $200bn revenue loss in 2020 –IMF

“For African oil exporters the pandemic happened in an already difficult context. Since the oil price collapse of 2014, production and investment in the oil sector in most African oil exporters have been on a secular decline, for a combination of factors including structural issues, governance and security concerns in several countries (i.e., Nigeria and Libya),” it said.

Selassie observed that investment in oil extraction and refining or energy generation in Africa could be affected in the years ahead by factors ranging from demographic trends and technological changes to the urgency of tackling climate change and the potential accelerating effect of the pandemic.

“The recovery on the continent depends crucially on investing in renewable energy which offers huge potential in terms of badly needed jobs and acquiring new technological capabilities.

“It would also help fight climate change and power the development of Africa,” he said.

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