The Federal Government, on Friday, set up a committee to work out modalities on the exploitation and exploration of bitumen resources in the country as part of the administration’s efforts to diversify the economy.
Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Architect Olamilekan Adegbite, who inaugurated the 9-man Committee on the development of Bitumen Resources, in his office in Abuja, said bitumen is an important component mineral resource needed for road construction that is in abundance, which the country can explore and exploit for economic development.
He disclosed that Nigeria has an estimated reserve of about 42.74 billion metric tons of bitumen along the States of Ogun, Ondo, Delta, as well as Rivers and Bayelsa, which remained majorly untapped for years.
Membership of the committee, according to a statement by the Chief Information Officer (CIO), Theodore Agbagwa, on behalf of the Director of Press and Public Relations of the ministry, chaired by the Director General, Mining Cadastre Office, Engineer 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: 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.
Architect 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, the establishment of international contracts vital for international cooperation in the new expanding technology and socio-economic impact on the areas of operation amongst others.
Source: Tribune
