The Legal Impacts of Pandemic on Natural Resources and Petroleum Contracts

Abstract

This Research work is Titled the Legal Impacts of Pandemic on Natural Resources and Petroleum Contracts. Despite significant medical progress over the last centuries, infectious diseases such as COVID-19 pandemic and Ebola still represent significant threats to modern societies. While some have been fought successfully and are only found within a few geographical areas, others have the ability to spread quickly from an initially limited outbreak, becoming epidemics or pandemics. The first and most crucial aspect of an epidemic or pandemic is, and will always remain; human suffering and the loss of lives. Nevertheless, the spread of a virus can also have important economic implications. A number of studies focusing on this aspect of the impact of epidemics and pandemics have found that the effects across the economy can be significant. The oil and gas segment are no exception. The paper contended that Coronavirus pandemic had revealed many weaknesses in the world’s major economies, and its attendant effect is conspicuously visible and cut across several institutions and industries: from the financial institutions to health, agriculture, tourism and hospitality, electricity, oil and gas. This has resulted in unprecedented total lockdown of cities, lower working hours, staggered and declining production, fewer processing, sub-optimal manufacturing and priority distribution. The study recommends policies that are going concern in nature and a well-thought-out stimulus package, which is not selective in its applications, could ensure that the industry is able to bounce back much quicker than expected. Diversification priorities to alternative sectors such as agriculture, solid minerals, manufacturing and services sectors should be further intensified and also, the full deregulation of the downstream oil and gas sector. The methodology employed in this research work is basically doctrinal. Materials from journals and the internet were considerably utilized.

Keywords: Impacts of Pandemic, Endemic, Epidemic, COVID-19, Petroleum Sharing Contracts, Khalifa Yahaya Muhammad