The Nigerian Minister of Mine and Steel Development, Mr. Olamilekan Adegbite says Nigeria is set to harness its 42.74 billion metric tons of bitumen deposits which has remained unexploited for years.
Ranked sixth in the world in terms of reserve size, this will create a huge opportunity for domestic bitumen production to replace the country’s reliance on imported bitumen.
To ensure that Nigeria’s bitumen resources are fully harnessed for industrial and infrastructural development, Mr Adegbite said the ministry “constituted a nine-member Ministerial Bitumen Development Committee on 31st January 2020” which carried out an inventory of internal existing infrastructure, compiled available geological information; re-established contact with previous interested companies and developed a framework for transparent allocation of the bitumen resources.
Mr. Adegbite further said that the ministry in collaboration with PricewaterhouseCoopers will embark on a sensitization workshop and investor conference to create awareness.
He said the event will include a media launch and a technical working session which will give the ministry the chance to pitch the bitumen investment opportunity to potential local and international investors both in person and virtually.
“The session will aid in the dissemination of information in order to facilitate and market the investment opportunity. Following the media launch, a technical working session will be held to answer any project-related queries. The Request for Qualification will be launched on 15th June, 2022.” He said.
According to him, “An important part of the committee’s recommendations was to finalize the process of engaging a transaction advisor to ensure the concession process is open, transparent and in accordance with global best practices as enshrined in the Nigerian Mineral and Mining Act 2007.”
