Senate Passes Bill To Establish Bitumen Development Commission

The Senate has passed a bill seeking to establish the Bitumen Development Commission to regulate and harness Nigeria’s vast bitumen deposits.

The bill was read for the third time and passed on Wednesday following the presentation of the report by the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals Development.

Presenting the report, a member of the committee Senator Diket Plang representing Plateau Central, said the commission is necessary to unlock the economic potential of Nigeria’s estimated 42 billion tonnes of bitumen deposits.

He added that the bill, sponsored by Senator Jimoh Ibrahim, representing Ondo South, enjoyed wide support during a public hearing attended by stakeholders from across the country.

According to him Nigerian bitumen deposits, which are found largely in the southwestern part of the country, cutting across Ogun, Ondo, and Edo states within the onshore part of the Dahomey Basin are the second largest in the world, with estimated reserves ranging from 13 to 42 billion tonnes, almost twice Nigeria’s oil reserves.

James Itodo, Edited By Grace Namiji