The federal government has set up a committee to work out modalities on the exploitation and exploration of bitumen resources in the country.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Arc. Olamilekan Adegbite, who inaugurated the 9-man Committee on the development of bitumen resources in his office in Abuja on the 31st January, 2020, said bitumen is an
important component of the mineral resources needed for road construction that is in abundance in the country can be harnessed for economic development.
Adegbite, in a statement issued, disclosed that Nigeria has an estimated reserve of about 42.74 billion metric tonnes of bitumen along the States of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, Rivers and Bayelsa which remained majorly untapped for years.
Membership of the Committee, chaired by the Director General, Mining Cadastre Office, Engr. Simon Nkom, was drawn from staff of relevant departments in the Ministry and Bureau of Public Enterprises (BPE).
The Committee, which has 2 weeks to submit its report, has the following terms of reference: to collate and study previous reports on development of Bitumen in Nigeria, identify current title holders and the level of exploration or exploitation, determine available bitumen reserves and recommend criteria for allocation of available reserves and ways of developing the resource to ensure maximum benefits for the country.
Adegbite enumerated some of the benefits Nigeria would derive from the exploration of the bitumen deposits in Nigeria which includes the diversification of the economy, improvement in technological growth, establishment of international contracts vital for international cooperation in the new expanding technology and socio-economic impact on the areas of operation amongst others. Responding on behalf of the Committee, Engr. Nkom assured the Minister that the Committee members would work assiduously to justify the confidence reposed in them.
