CGD in the News

How Nigeria Can Cure its Oil Addiction (Newsweek)

August 20, 2017

From the article:

Nigeria is addicted to oil. The oil industry contributes around 70 percent of Nigeria’s government revenue and over 90 percent of export earnings. Successive Nigerian governments have sought to diversify the economy, with limited success. But the global embrace of electric cars and the expansion of renewable energy is a signal of the waning power of oil globally...

At present, Nigeria uses only 15 percent of its gas supply domestically. According to the Center for Global Development, large-scale natural gas investments could cut Nigeria's CO2 output by 18 million metric tons per year —a 63 percent decrease from current levels. Natural gas is up to 40 percent cheaper than diesel for power generation, and has approximately one-tenth as many nitrogen and sulfur oxides, making it far cleaner to use both industrially and residentially.

Read full article here.