Worries over the future value of crude oil are particularly acute in Nigeria, where over 90% of export value is generated by fuels, oils, and distillation products. Policymakers fret that a rise in the sales of electric vehicles (EVs) across Europe and Asia will undermine its most valuable export. In its Global EV Outlook 2020, the International Energy Agency (IEA) reported that sales of electric cars topped 2.1m globally in 2019. The agency said about 17,000 EVs were on the world’s roads in 2010, compared with 7.2m today, as the price of EVs and batteries falls. Coincidentally, Europe and Asia, where demand for EVs is increasing, are also the leading destinations for Nigerian crude oil. According to Statista, during the third quarter of 2020, the export value of crude oil to Europe amounted to around $2.7bn. Asia was the second largest market, amounting to around N910bn.
SOURCE: AFRICAN BUSINESS