The largest oil producer in Africa, Nigeria derives 70% of its crude from its export revenues. With
the fall in prices, revenue forecasts are revised downwards. The country finds itself in difficulty, which
justifies its recourse to the International Monetary Fund.
As a result, $3.4 billion has been provided to Nigeria as emergency assistance. That's almost double the
what the country needs, according to Finance Minister Zainab Ahmed. Nigeria must therefore turn to
other donors to get by.
Ibrahim Jibrin, director of the Centre for Democracy and Development in Nigeria, said he had approached
this problem for a long time, "to the extent that the dependence on oil has been excessive since very
long".
But the Nigerian expert fears another problem. "Nigeria, in recent years, has been taking out loans,
especially Chinese loans. But already it has become difficult to repay! And this will pose a problem",
he says.
Angola, Africa's second-largest oil producer, has decided to cut production by 1.39 million barrels per day in March at 1.18 million barrels per day since May. The country suffers the consequences.
As for Algeria, the government forecasts a decline in hydrocarbon revenues to $20.6 billion
against 37.4 billion provided for in the initial finance law of 2020.
Chad and Equatorial Guinea face the same challenges.
Nj Ayuk, President of the African Energy Chamber, explains that "the current situation obliges States to
review their budget and make cuts in public spending in order to preserve the social contract,
promote job creation and stimulate growth that was already a challenge before the
Covid-19".
For Nj Ayuk, "the situation offers a perfect opportunity for local companies to emerge. Especially in
maintenance, logistics and oil and gas operations. Elles
can use this opportunity to stabilize the sector and become players."
Equatorial Guinea is already positioning itself on this track by taking a series of measures to allow
Local companies to support their foreign partners to safeguard their operations in the
country.
After the crises of 2114 and 2016, states had opted for a diversification of their economies. But years later, this was never realized, which Nj Ayuk regrets.