At a time when the service industry is making the great shift to work-from-home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the industrial and extractive sectors across the globe are struggling with the new normal. Anticipating tougher quarters ahead for revenue amid the economic shock of COVID-19, oil and gas giants recently made salary and job cuts, while suspending new exploration and expansion projects. Oil-dependent Kazakhstan was no exception to this global trend. This article outlines the causes and consequences of the current oil slump and potential ways out of this crisis.