Zigma has interest in the “Nigerian bitumen belt” which lies on the onshore part of the Dahomey Basin in the southwestern part of the country, straddling Lagos through Ogun and Ondo to Edo States. The area has been divided into three (3) main blocks A, B and C for ease of transaction and management by Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA). The Nigerian bitumen belt is reportedly the second largest of such deposit in the world with a reserve ranging from at least 13 to 42 billion barrels. The Federal Government’s intention is to ensure that the Nigeria’s bitumen resources are fully harnessed for domestic industrial/infrastructural development as well as export. The construction industry, particularly the road construction sector, is a major driver of bitumen demand both locally and internationally. Bitumen is a key component of asphalt that is used in road construction. Currently, the total national road network in Nigeria is approximately 200,000km. Only about 65,000km of the 200,000km are paved mostly in bituminous layers others are earth roads.

BITUMEN – HUGE OPPORTUNITIES

In addition, only about 30% of roads in Nigeria are paved…

ROAD NETWORK
• Nigeria has over 200,000km of road
network around the country
• Trunk A and B roads have an estimated
36,000km and 32,000kn road network
respectively
• Trunk C roads have an estimated
132,000km of road network
• Only 30% of the road are paved
• There is a huge network of roads that are
unpaved presenting an opportunity for locally utilizes bitumen